There are many types of friendships in this world.  Some are easy and some are hard.  Sometimes you can just slip into a friendship and even after years apart you just pick up where you left off.  Some friendships take a lot of work and its a struggle every day.  When I was twelve or thirteen, I had a friend that I did everything with.  Then one day we were hanging out with another girl and I felt very left out.  They were talking and talking as we were walking home and I just stopped walking and they continued on without noticing.  I talked to my Mom later about it because I was feeling lonely and left out.  My Mom is so full of wisdom.  She basically told me to grow up.  Friends can have other friends, if I didn't want to feel left out then I should have participated in the conversation and I shouldn't have stopped walking.  It was NOT their responsibility to entertain me.  Wow,  she was right.  Right now I have the opportunity to teach Lona about friendships.  I really don't want her to be a "needy" friend but one that others like to be around because she's not high maintenence.  We had this opportunity to talk and practice this last Sunday.  On Sunday she had some friends over and she got mad at them, threw a friend's sweater in the dirt and ran away.  Then she lied about being stung by bees. She wanted them to feel bad for her.  It was then time to take her friends home. She cried and cried, but if she isn't treating her friends correctly then they aren't going to want to be with her.  After taking her friends home we stopped and took photos at a fountain.  At first she was upset but after an hour, she was happy and jumping all over the place.  Then we were able to talk.  Here are some things we discussed.  It's Ok for our friends to have other friends, even best friends.  It's Ok for friends to hangout and plan to do things with other friends and we know about it but aren't invited.  Sometimes this will be just hanging out and sometimes it will be a party.  We do things with other friends too. If she learns this now, there will be less heartache later on.  When we got home Lona told me that her best friend was probably her Dad and I.  I understand that, outside of John, my Mom is probably my best friend.  Thanks Mom for being truthful with me.

Lona a beaucoup des amies.  Toujours elle demande si elle peut jouer avec ses amies.  Dimanche, deux amies de Lona venir chez nous pour jouer.  Ca marche  bien jusqu'elle deviens fou avec eux.  Elle a demande si elles pourraient l'aider a arranger les jouers.  Elles ont voulu quelques autres choses et retourner au jouets.  Elle deviens fou et jette leurs chandail dans le terre.  Et apres elle a dit une histoire faux.  Elle me dit qu'elle veut ses amies faire attention a t'elle.  Je pense que c'ette temps que ses amies retournent chez elles.  Lona et moi allons de prendre des photos.  Au debut, elles etait en larmes, mais apres une heures elle etait content avec un grand sourires.  A ca moment je sais que je peut parler avec elle.   Nous avons discute l'importance de l'amitie.  Ce n'est pas le travail d'un amie de nous amuser.  Si nous voulons des amies, nous devons leur etre gentil.  C'est d'accord que notre amies ont autre amies.  Elles peuvent faire des choses avec les autres amies.  C'est difficile pour une filles de huit annee mais si elle comprend ceca mainenant, il sera plus tardiff plus facile.