We really need to normalize giving our friendships and other meaningful relationships the same grace, patience, and energy we so often reserve for romantic relationships.
Why is it that a man can hurt you over and over again, and you'll keep finding reasons to forgive him and let him back in, but you'll cut off a friend for not showing up that one time? A friend who may have been struggling with something themselves. A friend who has consistently been there for you before.
Sometimes we hold our friends to impossible standards while making endless excuses for people who repeatedly disappoint us. The truth is that friendships require understanding, compassion, communication, and forgiveness too.
Not every absence is betrayal. Not every mistake is a reason to walk away. The people who genuinely love and support us deserve the same grace we so freely give to those we are romantically attached to.