“I’d rather have four quarters than 100 pennies.”
I’m sure you’ve heard this expression before. It’s used to describe someone who would rather have four very close friends than be surrounded by 100 “friends,” or people who aren’t of the highest quality.
And I get it. But I think they’re leaving out a few key details in their analysis. In my opinion, it’s perfectly fine to have friends who aren't going to stand beside you on your wedding day or sit in the waiting room when your first child is on the way. This doesn’t make them any less special or important in your growth as a person.
You see the friend who you haven’t spoken to in a year at the grocery store, and you can still have a perfectly fine conversation. She’s important. She allows you to catch up. You get to reminisce on the years worth of events you’ve experienced. She congratulates you on the new job, or the new house, or even the new haircut.
You have the friends who are always down for a date at the Mexican restaurant. I call these the foodie friends. The only time they seem to be free to hang out is when there’s food involved. This is totally fine! There is no greater bonding experience than watching someone be so excited about their queso that it ends up all over their face. Then half way through your meal, you both decide that you cannot adequately enjoy the rest of the meal if you don’t unbutton that annoying pair of jeans. That’s the definition of friendship, and you can’t convince me otherwise.
Then you’ve got your family friends. These are the people who have nothing more in common with than your acquaintances with similar people. But they call your 11-year-old brother by name and ask about his football game last Saturday. Or they tell you every single time they see you, about how they went to school with your aunt. You smile anyways and act like this is completely new information. You may not have, literally anything in common with these people; but they know and love your family. And that’s just a nice kind of person to have around.
All in all, I’d definitely rather have four quarters than 100 pennies. But I also have some nickels and dimes out there who I couldn’t do without. Was that too cheesy? Sorry I couldn’t resist.
But my friends come in all types of categories, and I love them all because of the different kinds of joy they bring to my life.
