5 Birth Months Known For Their Fierce Loyalty

Some people make you feel certain that your name is safe when you are not there. They speak with care about you, take your troubles seriously, and remain interested in your life long after the easy part of a friendship has passed. Sometimes that loyalty means standing up for you; sometimes it means telling you something you need to hear.

January

January, you can love someone enough to have the conversation they would prefer to avoid. A friend describes how they handled an argument, hoping you will agree with every word. You hear their hurt. You also hear the part where they were unfair, and care about what will happen if nobody mentions it. You take time to find words they can receive.

They may disagree with you. You can let them. Your place in their life is larger than winning this conversation, and when they call tomorrow, you still want to hear from them.

May

You have a tenderness for relationships with history, May. You remember their old ambitions, the jokes you still share, and how much has changed since you first met. Familiarity gives you more to love. When the friendship becomes less effortless, you are willing to ask what needs attention. You make room for a conversation you could easily postpone, admit when you have grown distracted, find a way to spend time together again. Years of closeness feel worth the effort of another beginning.

July

July, someone can bring you the same sorrow more than once. You know someone can have a good week and still need to talk about what happened. A friend may feel relieved one week and devastated the next. You remember enough to ask a real question, then listen without requiring the answer to sound more hopeful than it did last time.

They can call on an ordinary Tuesday, months after everyone stopped asking, and admit that today was difficult.

August

August, your friend is starting over, and you know how much courage it took to invite people to their first event. You put the date on your calendar. When another invitation comes along, you keep the plan you made. You arrive while they’re still nervously arranging the room, ask where they need you, and stay to help put things away. Long before they have a crowd cheering them on, they can count on seeing your face.

November

November, losing a job doesn’t make your friend any less interesting to you. You still call to ask what they think. You still introduce them with warmth. The things you admire about them were never confined to a title, and you remember them at a moment when your friend may struggle to do the same. They remain someone whose company you want, including on the evenings when there is nothing to celebrate.