True friends can go long periods of time without speaking & never question your friendship. this type of friend picks up like they just spoke yesterday, regardless of how long it's been, how far away they live & they don't hold grudges. They understand that life is busy but that you'll always love them and hold them close to your heart.
You can go through life and make new friends every year - every month practically - but there was never any substitute for those friendships of childhood that survive into adult years. Those are the ones in which we are bound to one another with hoops of steel.