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Have you read Kate Baer\u2019s newest poem, The Bridesmaid\u2019s Speech<\/a>? It\u2019s a beautiful ode to friendship. Is there anything more powerful than a friend-turned-sibling? Reader, I think not. Here are 10 reader comments on the subject\u2026<\/p>\n On offbeat hangs:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI attended a PowerPoint party, and it was hilarious. People presented on everything from bad \u201980s movies to Phil Collin\u2019s obsession with the Alamo (it\u2019s real! He wrote a book!). We laughed and learned a lot; it was an amazing way to spend a winter weekend in the Midwest.\u201d \u2014 Blythe<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMy six closest friends and I sat for a formal studio portrait \u2014 coordinated outfits and all! The (very patient) photographer let us be our weird selves and even hold a printed out photo of one friend who couldn\u2019t make it. Highly recommend capturing and proudly displaying images of deep friendship.\u201d \u2014 MRM<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cDuring quaratine, four of us (living in Salt Lake, Zurich, and London) started a Marco Polo<\/a> chat where we\u2019d randomly go through areas of our homes \u2014\u00a0like our bathroom cabinets, our fridges, our bedside tables. I loved getting to see these parts of my friends\u2019 lives. Details that matter to them matter to me.\u201d \u2014 Tanner<\/a><\/p>\n On unexpected friendships:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhen my sister and I were young, all the neighborhood kids were afraid of an elderly couple across the street \u2014\u00a0Rowland because he seemed grouchy and Nancy because she had health issues. I don\u2019t remember how it happened, but my sister and I befriended them and went over several times a week. Rowland was the nicest, and Nancy seemed like she would have been a great mom. They gave us Dum-Dums, let us play in their backyard, and gave us each $5 for Christmas.They both have passed on now, and I will never see a Dum-Dum and not think of them. I hope someday to be a cool old person to a young neighbor.\u201d \u2014 Margie<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMy adult son, Wallace, is everyone\u2019s not-so-stranger in our mid-sized city. He has developmental disabilities, and he\u2019s the most joyful, friendly \u201912-year-old\u2019 in a 25-year-old body! We can be at a mall, or in the hardware store, or across town somewhere different, and out of nowhere, someone will wave, shout, or smile at him. Wallace will grin big and reply with an excited \u2018Hey!\u2019 When I ask who it was, he always gives the same answer: \u2018My friend.\u2019 I know he doesn\u2019t know their names, but I\u2019ve concluded that he\u2019s the kind of not-so-stranger that makes everyone\u2019s day brighter.\u201d \u2014 Jo<\/a><\/p>\n On familial bonds:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy best friends now have kids, and I\u2019ve happily taken on the role of fun aunt. This summer, that meant attending the sports games that my friends\u2019 kids played. It was fun to have a standing date once a week for six weeks, and when the kids were on the field, we got to hang as adults! And six-year-olds playing t-ball? Adorable.\u201d \u2014 Amy<\/a><\/p>\n On looking out for each other:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an incredibly messy person (I\u2019m neuro-spicy, and the executive functioning difficulties are REAL), but also an extrovert and stay-at-home parent. So, I\u2019m frequently starved for adult interaction but ashamed about the state of my house. Recently, I responded to a neighbor\u2019s text with \u2018yeah I haven\u2019t done [thing we were discussing] because I\u2019m in a depression hole.\u2019 Y\u2019all, my hair was so dirty it was probably flammable, I was wearing a huge, old T-shirt with no bra, and my partner was on a work trip, so I was parenting and person-ing by myself. We were basically feral. Twenty minutes after I sent that text, my neighbor showed up with a cupcake. It was *not* a situation where a past version of me would have opened the door. But I took a breath and did, and this new friend hugged me, told me she\u2019d been there, and asked permission to clean my kitchen while I took a shower. I wept with gratitude in that shower, and when I came out, my kitchen was clean and my kids had snacks. If you\u2019re afraid to let people see past your polished self, maybe challenge that fear a little. There are really lovely things beyond it.\u201d \u2014 Kara<\/a><\/p>\n On saying \u2018I love you\u2019:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI once hung out with a new friend and had the best time. I felt the urge to say \u2018love you!\u2019 when we parted, but I wasn\u2019t sure if that would weird her out. Then she beat me to it: \u2018Love you, see you again soon!\u2019 I had the biggest smile on my face the rest of the day. So, lesson learned: there\u2019s a lot of unkindness and volatility in the world, and if a simple \u2018love you\u2019 from a new friend improved my day that much, I can only imagine how much sweeter things could be if we all said it more.\u2019 \u2014 Claire<\/a><\/p>\n On friendships-turned-soulmates:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy bestie and I have been friends since we shared a dorm room 15 years ago. We live in separate states now \u2014 and while I wish I could drop off cookies or run dumb errands or just watch old Disney Channel movies, when we do chat on the phone or get together, we pick up right where we left off. More than my husband, or my mom, she gets me. We joke that we are each other\u2019s soulmates, and we actually mean it.\u201d \u2014 Rebekah<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cShe was nine, I was nine and a half. My family had just moved to the neighborhood, and I was missing my old friends, so my mom took me to a field to fly kites. Soon another mom and daughter came over, and before long, the girl and I were off running, and our moms were left with the kites. I am now 80 years old, she is 79 and a half. We have shared our lives, ups and downs, good and bad. Have no idea where or who I would be without her. She feels the same. Just amazing.\u201d \u2014 Barbara<\/a><\/p>\n What friendship stories would you add? We\u2019d love to hear.<\/strong><\/p>\n P.S. How to navigate friendships with disabled folks<\/a>, and easy dinners to make when friends come over<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Photo from Somebody Somewhere<\/a>.)<\/p>\n