It's interesting how friends and friendships evolve over the years.
First friends might be the ones you meet in kindergarten. The ones that don't seem to understand that you must have all the chocolate chip cookies and yes you really need to knock down that tower they built. You might even remember one. No, me neither. The cookies & naps, yes. I find it amazing that anyone can still remember their kindergarten teacher. Personally I think they're making it all up when they say they can.
If we're lucky, we might make a friend sometime during grade school and remain friends for years after. Of course then high school happens and everyone seems to find a new niche. I'm not sure I ever found one. I was just all over the place from morning announcements to yearbook to theatre arts to sports teams to... The friends you thought you knew suddenly started hanging out by the smoking doors and new friendships form.
Then Graduation happens and everyone says unrealistically, Oh, let's stay in touch. Yup. Definitely. OK, so some of the gang does get together now and then... for a few years. You run into some during university. Boy did that seem like a big lonely place.
Onto the real world.. university.. jobs... marriage.. things can especially change once there's kids. Of course then you might have your own and suddenly realize why they never seemed to have time to call you anymore.
Do you ever wonder what happened to some of your high school chums? Might be a scary venture. Especially high school reunions. Isn't it just so neat when someone says they want to be your friend on Facebook... and they changed their last name.... and don't offer any explanation as to who the heck they are?? And then there are the ones that force you to go back to that yearbook photo to try and recall who the heck they are.... and leave you still wondering....
I love it when you run into some old school friends at your child's school... because they have kids now too. I get a good chuckle when they act the same way they did in high school.... I think one was still wearing the same style of clothes and another never changed her hair. Or are the 80's back in style?
Over the years I've had friends come and go. I had a hard time letting go of some, but that's life. The close friends I have now are the best I could ever had hoped for. They love & support me ... even through my shenanigans. Heck they even put up with my weird sense of humour.
So for all friends, I just want to say Thanks! I LOVE you!.. and this is for you....
"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."
sorry, I don't know who wrote that :)
I'm somewhat following a theme-along
challenge I found on the WWFC blog
... but that's another story :)
6 comments:
The evolution of friends and friendship is one of those universal constants that we all discover eventually. I like the way you've summarized things, almost as if these discoveries are rites of passage during different phases of a lifetime.
Facebook and other social networking sites really are a trip, aren't they? I have the same difficulty trying to figure out who some people are because of the maiden name thing.
What a lovely quote. :)
The best friends truly are those that stay with us through everything, and put up with us even when our sense of humour hits rock bottom. ;)
I remember 3 things about my Kindergarten teacher: her name, she had blonde hair and she had really pretty long nails and one day one of them broke and I was traumatized. :-)
Nicely done, Bears! I love that quote.
You wrote everything I WANTED to write. Absolutely wonderful!!!!
I like the reflection part. Very nicely done. I've skipped high school reunions because the few friends I keep from those days, I keep in contact. Outside of that, I totally disliked my days in school and like to keep them in my past. I enjoyed this post.
I'm not big on friends. So demanding. Always wanting free food, or borrowing your truck and your time on moving day.
But then I also have to move from time-to-time, and I'm grateful that people love me enough to help carry boxes to the truck. Or to sit and talk to me for hours when I'm down.
These are some nice words you've put down here, Bear. Thank you.
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