Time.
My enemy! What the hell; it lays great friendships in ruins, or in tattered awkward phrases.
I cannot help feeling ashamed of all the friendships that I have failed to maintain. It is hard keeping together all the ones that do remain.
Friends. I remember here, first ‘best friend’: it was pre-kindergarten, and we would play doctor together with our plastic kits. Swing sets, sand boxes. Oh, we loved sifting sand.
Then there was the one in kindergarten–we met on a tire swing, wearing dainty little dresses.
Life kept changing for me–I switched schools, from Cornerstone to South Ocala–Cornerstone was too boring, all we did was play dress-up, so I had to go. New friends, another ‘best friend’, we played with Barbie then and walked to each others houses–we were in neighboring neighborhoods. Icing on the nose on birthdays, bright-colored obviously fake make-up, not subtle at all. She moved away. Alabama strikes my life a bit later again.
A bit later, a few years, third grade: new circle of friends with a new school, now Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary. This time, we pretend to be Spice Girls, and have mini fashion shows. We are the stars.
The year changes, new classes, new friends–rarely see those past Spice Girls again. The new friends, now numbering 4 of us in a tight group: we attempt to design an environmental car in a secret project–we collaborated by bringing in car designs and creating ways to self-generate power, i.e. solar, motor…we’re a serious bunch, but fun loving. One moves to Gainesville, but the 4 of us keep in touch well until the end of 6th grade, when another moved away to South Florida and then Louisiana…I also leave, switching schools again (Howard –> Osceola). The foursome, we occasionally meet up year to year. Miracles of technology 
..yes I am grateful! Then we have had patchy communication–a few had Xanga, though probably no more. Facebook, yes we’re all there now. But after middle school, I can’t say our friendships have quite been the same. Nonetheless, they are huge parts of my life (i.e. my fish-fetish ;D).
From my Howard days also; we would escape the boredoms of home ec. and other Wheel classes together through stories and drawing…I learned a lot from her and we had a lot in common. It was hard leaving Howard, certainly not for the academic rigor (ha.), but because of the friends I had established there.
Then, TiP. I could dedicate pages to my friends from there. And those friendships, had distance not been an issue and school work–life and business/busy-ness, would have lasted–forever? My roommate my first year easily became one of my best friends in 3 short weeks. Despite non-overlapping music tastes, we found so much in common and had so many inside jokes. We attended dances together, giggled, ‘stole’ (borrowed) hats, ate ice cream, and watched kids through water balloons out windows and light socks on fire (etc.). We kept in touch for a year or so, but that gradually diminished. (Why did so many people leave Xanga? We kept in touch so very well when she still used it..). Time? Perhaps I’ll blame time again.
Second year I escaped with two more best friends–I still keep in touch with both, though decreasingly. So I won’t elaborate, I’ll try harder, time allowing? One has a LiveJournal, now book-marked for better keeping in touch. The other, I rely on snail-mail.
My third year friends, SO MANY NICE PEOPLE! But that happened every-year. There is one that I started writing again. I hope we can pick up what’s left and improve it(?). Then, between 3rd and 4th year, a new friend appeared. Alabama! Ah! Long distance. Yes, we were friends a year before…
Fourth year. Cool! We’re still keeping in touch. Time hasn’t done it’s damage here yet too, except to make me a little grouchier when time elapses between visits. Cooler yet, it has been over 2 years and 1 month since we’ve begun…Thanks Skype, thanks AIM, thanks T-Mobile! Aieeeeeeee.
SSTP: AH! 2, but I failed to keep in touch. I failed. And I will take the blame, though I point my fingers at the clock.
High school. Ah! This is the cross-road! I always choose: keep in touch. Does it happen? I don’t know!! I always hope so, but that doesn’t mean that it will. Friends, let’s not let time tear us apart!!
My sister (always)! A best friend for life! But Duke! You have taken her so far, and she is amongst friends that are strangers to me! Our common area of a Venn Diagram shrinks!! It’s harder to relate! 
We rely on breaks.
What to do? How to preserve? How to defeat time???
. The other day, Mom got a Facebook, and insisted that I get a (fluff)friend so she could pet it and earn “munny”, so after a few lectures and begging I got a (fluff)friend (and so I waste all my spare time petting pets to earn money…wait, what spare time?). Well, so my mom is an obsessive birder. Well, dad was watching the television, and he saw a bird he deemed extraordinary and was like “Sunnie! Come see this bird!”..well, mom said, “NO! I’m petting my (fluff)friend right now!”. I guess even aggressive birders have limits. 
