Hands down, James is my best buddy. There are many things over the years that I've shared with him that I've never shared with anyone else. There are some things I know that he has never talked about with his guy friends.
He is not my only friend. I have several girl friends. My closest friends are the ones that I eat with, chat with and pray with. I really don't have any topics that I can't talk about with my friends (my extended family is a different story), but I try to protect their privacy. I won't talk about friend X's intimate problems or joys with friend Y. I also don't talk about James' biggest hopes and fears with anyone either.
I think that James and I have more common interests than most people, but we don't tend to stifle each other--although maybe we will after empty nest sets in.
There's always time to drive each other cuckoo later.
Interestingly enough, my best girl friend is my mother. We distanced ourselves when I was a newlywed, but over the years we found our way out of a child/adult relationship and into a friendship. For one thing, we've lived a lot of life together.
Anywho, that's my two cents worth.
Elisabeth
