True Friends Just Understand

We all have bad days. We all experience times when, for whatever reason, everything seems out of sorts. The world seems off-kilter.

Often you can’t explain it. Nor do you want to. You simply want to close the door and forget about everyone and everything. Call it what you want: depression, the blues, a bad-hair day. It all amounts to the same thing.

At times like this, I’ve noticed that Bob’s friendship is subtly different. Sometimes, I won’t even be aware he is present. He will tuck himself under the chair or the bed, near me. On stand-by.

It’s as if he’s sensitive to my mood; as if he knows I need space, but that I also need watching. He seems to understand.

Again, I’ve come to see that’s the mark of a true friend. They grasp instinctively that sometimes you don’t want endless questions about what has upset you. You don’t want to have to explain yourself. You just want someone to understand your mood – and nothing else.