On the 'Friend' title

I ran into a lady last weekend while shopping for some groceries. I had met this lady on four different occasions prior to that meeting. We had met through a mutual friend at a house party, in a church and other general hangouts. Being my usual happy smiley self, I approached her to say hello but sister lady gave me the 'do I know you?' look. While I was trying to remind her about where we had met, her kids interjected, telling her they remembered my daughter and me quite well. We exchanged pleasantries and I continued happily with my shopping. When I relayed this story to my best friend, he was livid because he assumed she should be my friend because he witnessed our first meeting where our mutual friend introduced us (Plus we chatted a lot that night in the company of a few other ladies). I tried to explain to my best friend that she was not my friend but just someone I know (not even an acquaintance). That incident brought up the discussion of who a friend really is.

Friendship means different things to different people and the importance attached to the title varies between individuals. Friendship for me is a very strong word and it really does take me a while to address a person as a friend. You would probably hear me refer to people as 'my friend's friend', 'my colleague', 'my schoolmate/classmate' etc. I believe friends love, respect, honor, and celebrate each other. They could disagree over many issues but underlying all of those disagreements, I believe friends should be able to trust in their love for each other. With friendship, there are roles, expectations, and responsibilities in my book. 

So in my opinion, the lady I met at the store is not my friend and I wasn't disappointed by her reaction. She probably truly couldn't remember me or she just pretended not to for any reason best known to her. Whatever the case was, I am not offended because I have never held her to such expectation. I remember one of my friends saying to me ' you greet people too much, you should always wait for others to greet you first'. In response, I say 'Do not let one person's reaction determine your attitude towards everyone'. 

Enjoy your day people - the weekend is almost here (dancing).