A good friend can celebrate a version of your life that no longer centers them.

A real test of friendship comes when your life reorganizes around a partner, a child, a move, or work that they are not part of. Some people can be glad for you even as their place in your week shrinks. Others cannot, and the friendship turns into a quiet accounting of neglect. The generous response is rarer than it should be and worth noticing.

When your life changes, tell your friends what is happening rather than letting them infer it from absence. And when someone else’s life changes, watch your own reaction. Being pleased for someone who needs you less is a skill worth practicing.