Free pass friends

My mom and I had a conversation recently that centered around our friends.  My mom and I have been blessed with friends we've had for YEARS.  I've been friends with Jenny and Mary for 20 plus years and my mom has many friends she's known for 35 plus years.  If you know anything about my mom and I it's that if we have remained friends with these folks for this long, there is a darn good reason for it, they are genuine friends whom we adore and with any long term friendships, people can sometimes annoy one another.  We are all human, it happens but we both agreed that there are some friends we have that no matter the minor frustration they get a free pass or pardon.  For example, I would give my friends Mary, Jenny, Laura and Erin all free passes.  These four girls have been so good to me through the years that truly no matter what small thing they may do that would cause me a slight irritant, they get a free pass.  I would overlook it and move on, like a fairy waving her wand, it would be forgotten.  Mary reminded me on my 40th birthday that in our 22 year friendship there has never been a harsh word between us.  Free passes for Mary.  Jenny is an addition to my own family.  We vacation with her family and she is a friend who "gets" my kids.  She's seen them at their worst and never judges and she's seen them at their best and enjoys them.  So free passes to Jenny.  Laura spends her entire summer catering to me and my kids and opening her pool for us.  We eat her food and I drink her cocktails, truly a good friend.  Laura gets lots of free passes too.  Erin has been my friend for 4 short years but she performed such an act of kindness about three years ago.  We had a horrendous blizzard and no we had lost power.  We had no way of getting out of our subdivision.  Erin had power in her home.  She sent her husband and dad over on snow mobiles to take my boys.  She welcomed them into her warm home and feed them.  When our power came back on 8 hours later the boys were delivered back to my house on the snow mobiles.  Erin gets lots of free passes.  I would hope all these girls would give me a free pass too.  I adore all four of them but I'm not perfect.  All I know is every woman should be blessed with free pass friends.