Templated Relationships

I have a wife, parents, in-laws, two brothers, a whole bunch of cousins whom
I never meet, uncles and aunts, one nephew, and finally one niece. And then
I have friends. Many friends, all kinds of friends, and the friendship with
each is at a different level. So, it's kinda weird to state that H is a
friend and V is a friend too, when the friendship is at two completely
different levels. Harry and I connect at a level where we can almost
completely understand each other, almost alter-ego level. V and I have a
more prosaic friendship- good times, good conversations, hail fellow well
met variety. So, I think it is completely unfair to everyone to call them
both friends, when the relationships are at such different levels.

The situation would've had an added twist if I had a female friend and we had a
relationship just like the one I have with H. So, if I (or she) were really
bound as much by society's norms as many people are, we'd be confused about
our relationship. Is it friendship or love?

I am now coming up with a theory about relationships which goes like this:

Society has a set of templates that help us define our relationships in neat
little slots that make it useful for everyone around us to peg us. These
templates help us too - to automatically slot others vis-a-vis us! And in
here, the "Friend" template is a catch-all. You like someone, become pally
with him, and boom! You've got a friendship going!

But being lazy about this is dangerous for mental stability. I have
expectations from relationships - my parents, my brothers, my infinitely
better half.. Each of them know where they stand vis-a-vis me and what to
expect from the relationship. But this is not how friendships operate! If I
call V a friend and call H a friend too, do they stand at the same distance
w.r.t me. More importantly, do I know what to expect from them and do they
know what to expect from me? I actually have higher expectations from H,
considering how close we are, but is that really clear to all?

The answer is that certain relationships require CUSTOM templates! When you
have a relationship that deviates from the norm, you'd better pay a lot of
attention to it, developing it - after all, you don't encounter many of them
in a lifetime! And don't call it friendship, call it something else. In case
you cannot come up with a name, call it "Custom Relationship"!