Je ne sais quoi friends

There people in your life who energise you?

Apart from my family, there are some people in my life that I just love to be around. They add a little je ne sais quoi, something special in my life, with their listening ear and generousity of spirit. They energise me.

There are others however in life who are hard work who tend to sap my energy. They are usually negative, critical and not much fun to be around, whereas true friends are always keen to encourage, appreciate and affirm.

We've a handful of such "true-blue friends" who always make an effort to get with us. We give each other free date options and anticipate the updates at our get togethers...usually over food.

These friendships are two way - if we don't call them, then they will call us. It's like an unwritten contract where both parties reciprocate the friendship.

Today we jumped on a train in Belfast and our friends joined us as they then jumped on in Holywood, en route to our seafront brunch in Bangor.

We shared a taxi to Ballyholme, as  there had been a downpour as we arrived at the station. After brunch and some craic we dandered back all the better for our intimate encounter with our friends.

My wife, the youngest on our outing suggested she was our carer for the day, as all of us (except her) had sexagenarian train ticket passes. We all had a chuckle as we were subtely insulted, in a funny sort of way.

May the good Lord grant you such friends. They add a richness to your life which money cannot buy . Two way friendships are worth investing in.

“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.”– Unknown