a person's word...

I will be the first to admit I haven't lived a perfect life and that I have had moments where I failed to honor my word and/or was incapable of honoring my word. I know this world loves to hold people's pasts, people's mistakes over their head. Accepted. All I or anyone for that matter can do is our best TODAY. Today, I live my life where I honor my word. I do not frivolousely give my word without knowing there is a great chance that I can honor it and do so at a high level. I also have limited my life to involving myself with people who, today, not necessarily in the past, but TODAY, honor their word with me.

In addition, I also have come to define the word "friend" to include many things, but especially this... A friend is not someone who you think can do things for you, enhance your life, put you in touch with opportunities, etc. Yes, that may come as a result of a friendship but should not be the foundation of friendship. A person becomes a freind when you both see a trust develop between each other along with an interest in each oher. I call it love. Yet, that primary quality must exist... A friend is someone who you should be able to trust. And that means trusting them to honor their word. Even for simple things like, "I will call you back this afternoon", or whatever... And if they can't and conditions made it impossible to communicate this, that is life, and we all understand that. But when that type of treatment becomes habitual, becomes the norm instead of the exception, then... for me... as a friend, I am required to point that out. Even if it means that my friend gets angry and decides no longer to be my friend.

Sounds stupid maybe, forgive me, but I call that being responsible and I call that honoring a friendship. It is a requirement for me to be someone's friend. Hopefully, my friend... the one who I wrote this for... will understand.

One of the most frustrating things in the world for me is to be told by a friend that he or she will do something for me or be somewhere for me at a certain time and without notice fail to communicate when the plan changes. I can relate to your post very personaly.

TY General... and the thing is this... if it wasn't someone I thought was a true friend (and mind you I have learned you count those on one hand), I'd just move on but this one got to me emotionally (stupid for me being 48 years old to still find myself in these positions). But the fact is that I don't see what else life could be about if its not about relationship. And relationship has to take chances... on this one, I just feel stupid because I asked for it by trusting and so I take responsibility there. I just hope he realizes this key life lesson and improves himself as he is a parent and passes part of himself onto his children. We all want a better world for our children, bottom line.