Conflict and Growing Up

Right now there is a big conflict going on between Marcus and one of his very best friends. This isn't the first time they have gotten into it this summer. Last time, just like I knew it would, it blew over and worked itself out. This time I am not so sure. Marcus is ticked off, I mean REALLY ticked off. Heck I have never even seen him this mad at Dylan and I think that says a lot.
Personally I just think they are developing different personalities at this very awkward age of growth. They no longer click like they used to and it is no ones fault.
I remember when this happened to Dylan. All the boys he had hung out with for years just started disappearing from his daily conversations. Their names were being replaced with names I had never heard. I found myself asking "and who is that?" more than a few times. Now his very best friends are not those of his elementary days. Neither are the girls but that is a whole other post :)
As far as their fighting goes my motto is as long as there are no broken bones or a lot of blood-leave it alone, stay out of it, and let the kids work it out on their own- in their own way-in their own time frame.
The mother of the other child though took a different approach. Let me start by saying we are good friends and I truly love her and don't know what I would do without her and her never ending support. Anyway she chose to handle it another way and face it head on. She wants them to get along so bad and hates to see their friendship change or worse, be damaged.
Today we had a long chat and I told her what I fear to be the truth. These two boys are simply growing up and their developing personalities may just clash. They may work all of this out or they may just not be close anymore. I know that is hard to hear especially since he is her only child. You don't want to face that they are not little boys anymore and this is a time that is full of changes for them. I know it is hard in so many ways to see your little boy grow up.
It is difficult on the mother in another way too. You spend years getting to know your children's friends. The close ones you learn to love as almost your own. In many ways they feel like your own and that you have helped raise them. So when your child is no longer best friends with them you have to accept the fact that you will no longer be seeing that child on a regular basis. This makes for a huge loss on the mother's side of things cause we had no choice in the friendship cooling off and others taking off.
Dylan has a friend that became like my fourth child years ago. Even though him and Dylan are no longer that close we still consider him family. He comes and stays for days at a time still and it doesn't matter if Dylan is even here or not. He will always be special and at one time we thought about trying to get guardianship of him even.
My point here is it is tough when they change or loose a friend. If it was a close friend then more that just the child suffers the loss sometimes. But it is a fact of life that people come and go out of our lives. Once close friendships may start to fade as other intensify. It's all part of growing up and growing as a person in general.