Friends

The dictionary says a friend is ‘one with whom a person shares mutual affection, respect and regard. A person that cares.’

Look around you. How many people can you count as a friend? Is it the fellow next door that mows your lawn sometimes when he mows his? Is it the one that phones you for no reason, but just to say hello? Could it be a person you don’t know, but they write books you love to read?

As I write this I count myself so lucky. I have many friends. Some very close and some fairly new in my life, but all so precious, ‘of great value, beloved.’

My 9-year-old granddaughter said to me, “Grandma are we friends?”

“Of course,” I said, “Yes. Very special good friends.”

She said, “We never fight and sometimes I fight with my friends. How come?”

I had to think about that one.

How come friends have angry words or disagreements and then stop being friends? And how come those disagreements don’t get mended? Do you have a long-lost friend like that? Or maybe a family member that has argued or disagreed with their parents and stopped being a friend?

It seems you can’t live life without a few bumps along the way, and having a few friends and family members opting to drop out, but I wonder why?

I wish I had a quick fix for this important and very multi-layered problem. And if I did I’d be the first to use it.

Does this sound melancholy? I don’t mean it to be, but June is MAKE-A-FRIEND MONTH and it makes me think of family, friends, outings, trips and other get-togethers.

I’m remembering going to the Senior Prom with a friend because my boyfriend, who was a year older, had just joined the Air Force and was not able to come home. I’m still friends with this date and his wife and the boyfriend dropped out.

I’m also thinking about the girlfriends I made in high school that are still my friends today. Although we don’t live very close, it’s like we never parted when we get together and start talking.

Happy memories. And then some sad remembrances of losing some of those people that made my life so happy, but that’s where friends come in. To help fill in for those we lose.

I have friends that are even more special because we share a love of reading and books and discuss them often. I have several others that are special because they enjoy playing Bridge as much as I do and again, we interact often.

Another couple of special friends are writers that encourage me in my projects, and I hope I encourage them back. Other friends share their perspective on life and are my role models. Some share their grandchildren with me, and some have just been friends for so long that I can’t imagine not having them in my life. And, of course, there is the friend that I married so many years ago.

If you know me, you know that there are no strangers in my life, I just haven’t met everyone yet so I look forward to making new friends. Why don’t you too?

Life is made better by having friends so make the best of this month. Go out and MAKE A NEW FRIEND. I think you’ll be happy you did.

Contact Donna Lee Anderson at welltoldtales@aol.com.