German musician Detlef Cordes once said, 

That's some deep stuff, there.  Is it true?  Does your friendship rely on that person's usefulness to you?  What they do for you?  Or is a true friend someone who doesn't need to be anything to you but a presence?  Is that presence a function in itself?   Is it possible to have relationship without some kind of function?

My logical mind is cracking just a little.  But I think I'm overcomplicating what Cordes meant.

I think he's saying that a true friendship doesn't need to be complicated.  It's not about scorekeeping or competition.  It's just about being.  Being together without worrying about what you're getting out of it or putting into it.  

I mean, surely we need to invest in friendships.  We need to be good friends.  Loyal, helpful, sympathetic, sharing common interests, spending time together.  

Some of our best friends come to our house often to eat.  They thank us profusely for feeding them--again.  We joke back to them that we have to keep feeding them to keep them coming around.  But it's not true.  We show our love by feeding them, among other things.  They show their love by loving us despite our quirks, among other things.  

I suppose both of those styles of friendship are "functions" of friendship, but down deep they don't matter to either of us.  We could stop feeding them and they'd still be our friends.  If we suddenly became "normal," they'd still show up to go disc golfing with us at 7am.

We like each other, even though we have few things in common.  One of the fun parts about having them as friends is that we can learn new and fascinating things about each other, though after all this time, I think we know almost everything about them, and they about us.   And for some reason, we STILL want to spend time with each other.  

Last week we celebrated the founding of our state.  We had these good friends over for a barbecue.  Me and my husband, the two of them, our youngest daughter.  Five adults sitting around our kitchen table (because it's been too blasted HOT to eat outside now for several weeks).  And what were we doing?

Coloring.

Karen, my friend, had just had shoulder surgery and had her right arm in a sling.  We sat side by side, gossiping like teenagers as we colored Artistic Chaos Ink's Summertime Washable Tablecloth while our husbands bent over the grill outside.  She struggled a little, coloring with her off hand.  But she did fine.  I mean, it wasn't like we were trying to be Rembrandt or anything.  It didn't matter even if we stayed inside the lines.  

It only mattered that we were together.

If you're looking to deepen an existing friendship or maybe grow some new ones, here are some fun ideas for connecting with friends for less than $10.:

Friend Connections for Less than $10:

1. Find and play a new game.  We just discovered one called Tacta.  It's a card  game for 2 to 6 players with some fascinating twists.  All you need is a table.  I picked it up at WalMart for $7.50.  If you really want to be cheap, hit a local thrift and grab some random used game.  COST:  $1-10.  ($10.  That's your limit!)
2. Go to a local Farmer's Market.  Okay, so this one COULD cost you more than $10.  But if you simply go with the goal of finding some new craft or dinner idea, then it doesn't have to cost you anything, and there are tons of fun things to see.  COST: FREE--Potentially.
3. Go to a dog park--and DON'T take a dog. Just go and enjoy watching other people wrestle with theirs.  FREE!
4. Go to a botanical garden and talk about what you wish your yard looked like.  Afterwards, get some ice cream to soothe your feelings of botanical inadequacy.  COST: $5-10 for ice cream.
5. Plan a weekend getaway together.  In the end, this one could cost you a bundle.  Hotel rooms, restaurants, gas (Sheesh!  Gas prices these days!).  But the planning costs you nothing. If you REALLY want it to be free, just plan the trip and don't actually go.  Go CRAZY making the most extravagant plans you can come up with.  Then take a drive through the mountains for the cost of a couple of gallons of gas.  COST: FREE-ish.  
6. Have a Bake-Off!  Choose a theme--pies or bread or cookies.  Everyone comes armed with a new recipe they want to try and a bag of ingredients.  Most baking recipes don't cost much, even these days.  COST: $5-10.
7. Go thrift shopping!  Take nothing but $10 cash each and find something either SPECTACULAR or TOTALLY weird.   COST: $10.
8. Make a playlist on Spotify together.  You can learn SO much about someone you thought you knew by what they would or would not include on a playlist!  COST: FREE (if you're already paying for a Spotify account.  If you're not, just use YouTube.)

So if you have a friend who matters to you not as a function, but just as a friend, why don't you kick back with some markers or colored pencils or even channel your inner child with some chunky preschool crayons, and color!

We have tons of ideas to get you started!

ARTISTIC CHAOS INK

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