I love my friends. They are truly good people. I have known some of them from the time that I was seven years old. I met others in high school. I have friendships from the neighborhoods where I have lived and from the jobs where I worked. There are also friends from church. It’s amazing how much alike we are and how each person has impacted me in my life’s journey.
I have known many people. Some were close for a time but distance and the years that passed separated us. I have fond memories of them but do not even know where they are or what they may be doing. They had a deep influence on me at one time that I will always appreciate. They were part of my life for a reason and I in theirs and then we both moved on.
The really fun friendships are the ones that were unexpected. There is Rosie who was the quintessential “good ole gal” who taught me about life in the raw. She took my naive self and showed me what the world is really like and how to handle almost any situation. There is the woman from New York who helped me become fearless from her examples of being compassionate and fair even in dire situations. I don’t see either of these ladies anymore but they carved such an impression on my heart that I still think of them with a smile. They made me tough and resilient and also much kinder and softer than I had ever dared to be.
Perhaps my longest standing friend is Lynda, the girl who lived across the street from me when I was six years old. We shared so many childhood memories and secrets but then my family moved away we were going to different schools, so we only saw each other now again. Nobody would ever guess that we do not communicate every single day because we can pick up our conversations as though they ended only the day before even when several years have passed since we talked. Hers is the only birthday that I remember without a calendar. April 19 tells me that she and I are growing older together and that somehow we are “sisters’ who just get each other no matter the passage of time.
I have young friends who might have been my daughters and sons but we are so simpatico that our difference in age does not matter. They are incredible young folks who keep my faith in the future optimistic. A world of people like them will be very good indeed. They are generous and loving souls who remember me in small ways that mean the world to me. I may get a text on Christmas day or Valentine card on February 14. Sometimes they just check to see if all is well.
I am sometimes stunned by the goodness of the people that I know. While so many complain that the world is going to hell, I know differently. I see the compassion in the people that I have been honored to call friends. They just keep optimistically moving forward no matter what the weather or state of the Union may be. They love me and I love them in spite of our differences. We did not choose each other because we always agreed on everything but because we witnessed the beauty of each other.
I have lost some of the most wonderful friends that anyone has ever had. My friend, Pat, was the big sister that I always dreamed of having. She guided me into a world of adventure, travel and enjoyment. Being with her was like a holiday. I still treasure every moment that we shared and now I have her daughter in my circle to continue the family tradition of thoughtfulness and joy.
I miss my friend, Egon, a German with a Norwegian mother. We used to joke that we would take care of each other if anything happened to our spouses. I never dreamed that he would leave us so soon. I miss the evenings sitting by his pool listening to music and discussing the state of the world as though we were serious pundits deciding how to steer the nation. I just wish that I had known more about my ancestry before he died. I think he would be delighted to know that I descend from Vikings on my paternal grandmother’s side of the family. I think he would have laughed and danced like a Norwegian elf at the news that we were even more alike than either of us expected.
I don’t think of myself as an extrovert but somehow I seem to make friends wherever I go. I always have a quiet relationship with the people that I know. I’m not much for big parties or raucous situations. I most enjoy just sitting one one one or with a small group listening to people and learning from them.
I feel quite fortunate to have been so lucky in finding the most wonderful people with whom to share so many moments of my life. I love their diversity. They have made me a better more interesting person than I might otherwise have been. Even if I do not see them or if they have decided that I no longer fascinate them I feel an incredible appreciation for each and every one of them and will always be open to welcoming them each time we manage to find the time to meet once again.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 