Amazingly the tears dropped from my eyelids once the right question was asked. Totally sheltered by the circle of friends who knew everything about me for some thirty-five years, i cried. The round table at Panera's became my safe place on a Saturday morning.
Friendship is one of life's most amazing gifts! The people who choose to know me, accept me, love me and encourage me are priceless, and in fact I can't imagine my life without them.
When I began crying in the restaurant, my five friends gathered at the table with me needed no explanation. They had been walking hand in hand with me for decades and knew the depth of my distress, the source of my anxiety and the challenges I face without my having to go into detail. Knowing the entire person is one of the best features of true friendship. No pretense is needed. No phony smiles are required. To be oneself, totally vulnerable, and yet totally sheltered in the arms of another, is the essence of friendship.
Of course, friendship is also tremendous when things are going just great too! The smiles, the stories, the laughter, the shared memories are precious and indeed carry me along through life. And the longer we live, the more memories there are to keep us going and I find that I treasure these precious girlfriends more than ever and I cherish my time with them.
Pictured above are the dear girls who shared the table at Panera's with me. They along with other special women have known me for a long time. Pictured below is my childhood girlfriend and although we have only seen each other twice as adults, the moment we are together we are profoundly connected and still share many common interests.
I am also blessed to have new girlfriends when I winter in Florida. Although I have not known them nearly as long, we already have a kinship. It seems that women just know how to care about each other. In that caring, which seems to come so naturally, is an intensity that touches the soul.
The lyrics of the song I learned as a Brownie Girl Scout come to mind often: Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. I find the song to be so true and I find that each of my friends, old or new, add such a wealth to my life. They are indeed a priceless treasure.
And so to each of you girls, and you know who you are, I extend so much gratitude that you cannot even hold it all. I am sending it to you each time we write, each time we talk and each time we see each other so you will never ever be empty. You will know that I am there for you when life is good or when life is tragic. I love you for being you...and I love you for knowing me!
