I could could count on one hand the number of friends I have.  In fact, I bet you could cut off a few fingers and I would still have room left over.  A friend, to me anyway, is a very intimate thing. It is my closest people. The ones who see me at my worst and listen to the whines and rants, always holding my words in confidence, but still calling me out when I need to be called out.

They are always there celebrating my success beside me. Their goals for my life are often bigger than my own, and they push me to pursue my dreams and challenge myself.

My friends may be rare creatures, but they are everything to me.

I also have lots of acquaintances. Lots.  People I would greet happily, or respond to without hesitation.  People that are in my digital and physical space, moving about, sharing air.  These folks are just fine, and I enjoy them and what they bring to my life, but they are not “friends”.  They are still people I appreciate.

But, there is something between these two groups. A “more than acquaintance and less than friend” that I always get hung up on.  Someone I may enjoy being around more than others. Someone I chat with regularly, perhaps even daily.  People who are special… yet still not my extreme definition of “friends”.

When I put it that way it sounds rude, but I’m not meaning it to.

Remember, a friend to me is my innermost circle of people.  There is nothing after that… these people get all of me, the good and the bad, and they hold my secrets and my fears in the most sacred of trusts.

I guess in the hierarchy of things they would be my “BFF’s”, except I’m not in grade school anymore. So I just call them my friends.

But what do I do about that ambiguous group that loiters between “friend and acquaintance”?  Someone I am building a relationship with, but may (or may not) let into the inner sanctum, ever. Someone I would greet with a  boisterous hug and spend the night gabbing with.  A frien-quaintance?

I get stuck here as well… frequently. Mostly because my definition of “friend” is so intimate.  I understand it is a generalized term out there for many… but for me it is not. A boyfriend is someone intimate. A girl friend should be the same.

So help me out internet. Am I missing something?  While I am not big on labels, I feel the need to ensure that lines are drawn and boundaries are present, more for myself than anyone else.  If someone assumes we are “friends”, their words are pushing up against the boundaries of my comfort and making me nervous.

So, how do I delineate these relationships?  Or should I adapt to society and change my own feelings and ideals on this one?