When I asked my kids what friendship means to them, my 6 year old said, “having fun together and being nice.” My almost 11 year old said, “friendship is liking the same things and not getting mad at eachother.” My oldest daughter has two BFF’s (best friends forever) that she loves hanging out with, texting, and sharing stories with, her response was, “people who make your day is what friendship is all about!” Friendship to me is someone that you make memories with that you remember for a lifetime. 
I have a fond memory about a long-time friend. She was my friend since first grade, and still is to this day. Amy and I in elementary school began something we called “summer pen pals.” We were probably in 3rd or 4th grade at the time and long before cell phones, Facebook, and all the new social media we wanted to keep in touch after school was out for the summer.
Amy and I would use old fashioned snail mail to write letters to eachother on pretty stationery, inclose a few stickers (remember Mrs. Grossman’s?!) and address it in our own juvenile print, stamp it and put it in the mailbox with the flag up! Normally the mail would get delivered the next day or two and the excitement when you saw your name on a piece of mail.
What would she say? What sticker would I get? Would it be a bear, a rainbow, a glittery one? Ooh this letter has a picture in it. Oh the thrill and excitement. I wished I had saved some of those letters. Written notes by hand are few and far between nowadays replaced by text, email, and instant messaging. I do want to grab one of my youngest daughter’s friends and suggest we do something like this for the summer. The girls have learned quite a bit of writing in Kindergarten this year and this will encourage keeping it up over the summer as well as staying in touch with those special friends they made their first year in school!
Boy have times changed, but what remains the same is the friendship I have with Amy. Though we live in different areas and the letters may only come at the holidays, I hope Amy knows that all the fond memories remain and she will always have a special place in my heart!
Do you have a special memory of a friend? What does Friendship mean to you?
Read more about Friends Count on the Behind the Seams Blog, a Build-a-Bear Workshop collaboration.
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