I am still here in Oregon, so I don't have access to my photos, but if you go here, you can see any number of old photos of my friend and former roommate Joy.
Today is Joy's birthday - and I want to wish her many happy returns. Hitting this milestone is a little traumatic, but not much. These things do happen incrementally after all!
While visiting here with Phoebe, I have thought often about how important friends are in our lives. We have mothers and sisters, who are vital to our well-being, but we need our friends!
I am impressed anew at how grateful I am for all the wonderful friends Phoebe has. It's hard to live far away from your daughter. But when I think about her great friends and how much they care for her, I am truly comforted and know that she is in excellent hands!!
I have noticed this with all of my daughters. (Not so much with sons - not sure why that is, since Harry and Noah do have some great friends too.) They all have friends from church and school with whom they are still and regularly in touch. And they make new friends wherever they go - and hang onto the old ones as they move on.
These women are there for them with the moves, the pregnancies, the new babies, the projects, the recipes, the school issues, Cub Scouts, Young Women, the daily stresses, and probably most significantly, the listening ears!
When I visit my girls, I see that their friends are indeed there for them. And I see that the growth goes both ways - as they receive from their friends, they are giving also - and learning and growing in ways that will impact their lives as the years start to fly by - and fly they will. Very soon they will be helping with sending kids off to college, off on missions, getting ready for weddings and even grandbabies!
I'm at the stage where my friends are becoming more valuable than I ever imagined they would be. My old friend from Grenoble days was here Wednesday for lunch - and we chatted as though we'd just seen each other yesterday. I had dinner last night with the the Burkes, and we seamlessly moved into conversation about our children - even though we don't really know one another's children. In June with went to Ashland with two of Harry' s old college roommates - and anyone listening to us would have thought we'd been living on the same street for the last 30 years! I will never forget going to my high school 20-year reunion - over 20 years ago - and running into a friend with whom I'd gone to school K through 12. We picked up where we'd left off - just like that.
That is the blessing that is friendship - and that is why I want to wish Joy the happiest of days and a wonderful year ahead!!
Today is Joy's birthday - and I want to wish her many happy returns. Hitting this milestone is a little traumatic, but not much. These things do happen incrementally after all!
While visiting here with Phoebe, I have thought often about how important friends are in our lives. We have mothers and sisters, who are vital to our well-being, but we need our friends!
I am impressed anew at how grateful I am for all the wonderful friends Phoebe has. It's hard to live far away from your daughter. But when I think about her great friends and how much they care for her, I am truly comforted and know that she is in excellent hands!!
I have noticed this with all of my daughters. (Not so much with sons - not sure why that is, since Harry and Noah do have some great friends too.) They all have friends from church and school with whom they are still and regularly in touch. And they make new friends wherever they go - and hang onto the old ones as they move on.
These women are there for them with the moves, the pregnancies, the new babies, the projects, the recipes, the school issues, Cub Scouts, Young Women, the daily stresses, and probably most significantly, the listening ears!
When I visit my girls, I see that their friends are indeed there for them. And I see that the growth goes both ways - as they receive from their friends, they are giving also - and learning and growing in ways that will impact their lives as the years start to fly by - and fly they will. Very soon they will be helping with sending kids off to college, off on missions, getting ready for weddings and even grandbabies!
I'm at the stage where my friends are becoming more valuable than I ever imagined they would be. My old friend from Grenoble days was here Wednesday for lunch - and we chatted as though we'd just seen each other yesterday. I had dinner last night with the the Burkes, and we seamlessly moved into conversation about our children - even though we don't really know one another's children. In June with went to Ashland with two of Harry' s old college roommates - and anyone listening to us would have thought we'd been living on the same street for the last 30 years! I will never forget going to my high school 20-year reunion - over 20 years ago - and running into a friend with whom I'd gone to school K through 12. We picked up where we'd left off - just like that.
That is the blessing that is friendship - and that is why I want to wish Joy the happiest of days and a wonderful year ahead!!
3 comments:
This is Eliza...
I wanted to say that I really treasure the friendships I have hung onto since high school. I have not always been the best at keeping in touch, but every time I get together with my dearest and oldest friends, it's like we pick up where we left off.
Also, now that Matt and I have lived in one place for almost 4 years, I have made some very dear friends here as well. Being a stay-at-home mom has really helped with that...when I worked full time in Salt Lake, my friends were through school and work. I didn't have time or energy to maintain friendships outside of the boundaries or in my neighborhood or ward. And when I was still working when Theo was a baby, it was the same thing: I had friends at work, but we all had families at home, and it wasn't as easy to make or maintain friendships outside of work although I had a few.
Anyway, I have gotten to know some girls through the ward and more recently through preschool; now we have almost all had kids, second kids, some of us third or even fourth kids; and I've also been fortunate enough to make connections with girls/ladies who don't have kids, but we have common interests.
And as you said, have been there for each other when our families couldn't be. I feel at home here in a way that I just couldn't if I didn't have good friends...because I would miss my family, and my oldest friends from childhood, way too much.
And one other thing--interestingly I think that blogging and Facebook has helped me make stronger connections with "real life" friends that I meet through church, community, or school things, as well as old friends. It enhances our "real" relationships in a way that I really appreciate. We know much more about each other than we would if we weren't connected in that extra way.
You Terrill women are very wise, indeed. Good thoughts, and I agree.
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