What I know About: Your Place in My Life

I hear from husbands all the time that they wish that their wife was their "best friend". In the case of my best friend her husband, although we are also friends gets a bit jealous of our relationship. He often wishes that she would tell him all of the things that she tells me, or our other friend that she talks to all of the time.

Her answer to this was that "They are my best friends...You are my husband". When she said it, it made perfect sense to me. A husband is one type of relationship. I think of it as part relative, part business partner, part boyfriend.

She explained to him that I could not serve as her husband... we did not live together, we have no children together, all that we do is talk on the phone or visit or travel every once in a while. Our relationship is not the same.

I am not sure what it is that husbands "think" that they want to take over this relationship? They don't go around saying things like I want to be your mother, or your sister, or your boss? These are all relationships that give you access to insight into your wife... why not that?

I am beginning to believe that every relationship in your life is different. You will not share the same experiences that you do with your spouse, as you do with your mother and father, as you do with your children. My relationship with my aunts is going to be diffent than yours with your aunts. Even the relationships that I have with my children are different from each other. All though the relationships I have with them are both wonderful, they different, and I treasure them both for different reasons.

All and all If I ever marry again my husband probably won't be my best friend, my best friend will remain the same person that it has been for the past 16/17 years. He will be my husband and that will be a relationship that will stand on it's own merit.

What I know about: Getting Advice

As I have mentioned before I am one of the people that many of my friends call for advice. I expect it is because I generally shoot from the hip. I am not as concerned with sparing feelings as I am with sparing my friends from pain.

Recently I spoke with a good friend who called me in a panic. She was sure that her boyfriend was on the way out the door. She recounted to me the story. If her version is correct, his words were harsh, and inappropriate given the situation. But I told her to "hold steady because people sometimes freak out and have moments of bad judgment when faced with a number of difficult situations at the same time. Keep it in mind but keep it in perspective."

She was relived to hear my advice, because the person she called for advice before she could get a hold of me had another story to tell. I asked her "Why did you call her for advice on this subject, has she ever been in this situation before?" Look at how she deals with similar issues, and then decide if you think her way is the best way for you.

Be cautious in who you seek advice from.

I can tell you what I know about lots of things. But there are plenty of things that I know nothing about. I have never adopted a child, I have never flown a plane, I have never run a farm. I could not tell you anything about those topics. If a friend came to me for advice in these subject areas, or many others, I would not even TRY and advise them beyond...Why don't you go look it up, or find someone who had done this and ask them.

Advice from friends is a wonderful thing. These are the people that love you and know you, sometimes better than you know yourself. The outside perspective they have is a benefit when you cannot see clearly from the inside. Just know who your friends are and what their areas of competency are before you rely on their every word.


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