An excerpt from “With No Regrets: Getting Older, Face It, Live It, Love It” by Jane H. Goldman. (Published by The Three Tomatoes Book Publishing.)

A dog can be a friend, so loyal and loving.

A cat can be a friend, so loyal, even if not so loving.

Even a goldfish can be a friend, always there when you need to see it.

And that’s not counting:

A blanket can be a friend, even if it’s not the one from childhood, if it gives you comfort.

For me?

I don’t have a dog, cat, or goldfish.

I don’t even have a blanket I can rely on for comfort. I have to turn to the human kind,

My kind.

And I do.

And I don’t have just one friend,

I have many friends.

Then, most meaningful,

To me and maybe to you,

I have my “family” of friends.

Much fewer in number, yes, but these are

The ones I can really count on.

The ones that are always there.

The ones that make me feel I’m never alone, always loved.

In short, this “family” of friends are the “no matter what” friends.

And what do I need to do in return for my family of “no matter what” friends?

Happily, I don’t need to feed them three times a day or walk them day and night.

Instead I just need to love them and care for them in return.

In short, be to them what they are to me.

A “no matter what” friend.

And that is the friend I will always be and grateful to be.

No matter what.

Jane H. Goldman is a renaissance woman. For many years, she was General Counsel-Vice President of Warner Bros Distributing Corporation and thereafter litigation counsel to its parent company, Time Warner Inc. She now pursues and lives her passions, which include painting, sculpting, music, and writing. In addition, she won a Drama Desk Award as associate producer of the hit comedy “Celebrity Autobiography”. She received her BA from Barnard College and her law degree from NYU.