Friendship is...

So I was reading a friend's post about friendship today, and that got me contemplating about what friendship really is.
Dictionary.com defines friend as a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

Growing up, friendships come and go. People move, go to different schools, someone's lifestyle changes and you can't support them so you fade out, or just don't have that friend connection anymore. Growing up itself is pretty scary, but realizing you aren't going to be friends with some of the people for the rest of your life is scarier, I think. Working at the daycare, I found that little kids are really fickle about friendship. The Pre-K kids, girls especially, would be friends one day, and the next day dislike each other.
I don't think I really realized how valuable a friendship was until I moved to Washington. There have been lots of situations in the last eight years where friends have cycled through my life. You know how you can be immature when you're a teenager? Hey, it happens to all of us. During those moments, friends argue, and sometimes go their separate ways. I remember one specific argument about a particular boyfriend I was dating at the time, and I had one friend decide to just stop being my friend until I was out of that relationship. The other friend in that situation, though they didn't like him either, stayed. I'm not saying that choices like that make us bad friends, because they don't.
I really do know where I'm going with this, so bear with me. I tend to ramble sometimes.
Now that I'm an adult and some huge life-changing things are going to be happening in the next few years, I'm realizing more than ever that the friends I have are irreplaceable, and how much they mean to me. Take Courtney for instance -- Courtney and I have had our fall outs. There was a span of about two years that we didn't even talk. At the time, we didn't realize that we needed to grow as people and get to the point where we could be friends. She is one of the best friends I have in the world. I'm grateful to her for always being reliable, wonderful, and fun to be around. Ever seen Boy Meets World? I feel like Courtney and I are kind of like Cory and Shaun. She's the best friend anyone could ever ask for.
How about Tyler? Do YOU have someone that makes you happy no matter what you feel like? How about someone who makes you feel more loved than anyone else in the world? What about someone to laugh and joke with about anything? That's Tyler and me. We are comfortable together. Even on Mother's Day (when we talked on the phone) we were laughing and joking with each other. He's been gone for a year, and our relationship has grown so much!
Friends are wonderful. I don't know how you define your friends, but I would say keep them close, because they're in your life for a reason! :) Thanks to Dennis for really making me sit and think about how wonderful all of my friends are.