Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Gift of Friendship

Several weeks ago my girlfriend Debbie and I were sitting in the Lexington gymnasium having a discussion on friendships. We are both nearing the 50 year mark in our lives, so needless to say we have a great deal of experience in regards to friendships.

There are friends that we knew from our youth, those we played in the sandbox with, those that sat beside us each and every day in primary school. We never saw beyond the day, when these individuals would not be a part of our day to day existence.

Then we traveled to the land of High School, where relationships became "oh so complicated". Girls competed on a day to day basis for popularity and for the cutest boy on the football team. I remember sitting in Ms. Faile's Algebra class, wondering when did it all get so complicated! The relationships that once were so simple and easy were now the battle fields of our youth.
Time passed and more relationships mixed and meshed into our lives, some worked, some didn't. There were reasons why we let some friendships disolve, and reasons why we cherished others.
The definition of friendship has changed many times for me. Many people come into our lives, but who do we label as friends? There were friends that I "cut town with in Kershaw" with to those that taught me valuable life lessons, and those that have taught me how to enjoy life. I have found friends in many places, the sandbox, friends from other countries, to friends younger than I and of course the friends that are older than me, who have taught me the importance of enjoying life!
Today, I am enjoying many friends from the various "windows" of my life, my friends beside me as I venture forth into my fifties. Life is good, and I am excited about tomorrow, and the new friends, tomorrow will bring!