Friends to the End

I have just recently started thinking about all of the friends God has sent my way during my life time. I know by all standards, it really hasn't been all that long of a life compared to some.

Some of those friends I have only known for a short amount of time. They are every bit as dear to me as those older friends I have, although we don't share as many cherished memories.

As a child we moved around quite a bit. My dad started out as a high school teacher, but shortly after he and my mom got married, he decided to leave the teaching arena and enter into sales. That's where all of the moving came from. I guess most businesses seem to like to have their salesman move to new areas. It was very frustrating.

I never particularly liked to move. Neither did my mom. I think my dad and my sister were more alike, they seemed to view it as an adventure and didn't seem too upset when they were uprooted. It might have been easier on my if my sister and I were close, but we got along like oil and water. At least we didn't fight too often, but she always seemed to be able to find ways to make me feel badly about myself.

The longest time we ever lived in any one area was about 5 years when I was growing up. In some places, we lived there as few as two years. I was always kind of a shy person who had a difficult time making friends, so it took me a long time to develop the true bonds of friendship that I truly enjoy still to this day. (I bet you can't tell from my blog, but somehow it's easier to write for me than it is to talk to people face to face.)

I got to see all kinds of interesting places and met some very wonderful people with whom I try to maintain contact, though at times I find it quite difficult. I have tried to visit most of my former homes at least once, but they are spread far and wide. I was rather young when we lived in some of those places so I'm not sure I'd be able to find my way around anyway. After moving I tried to remember to write to my friends, but somehow it just didn't usually work out to maintain those friend ships.

Friends come and go I guess, but I'd rather just keep them all as friends even if we are seperated by a few miles or a few thousand miles. It's always hard when the nature of your friendship has to change. Sometimes friendships end because you no longer are in the same clubs, you may have graduated from school, you may have quit your job, you may have moved, the list goes on and on.

I guess some people are out of site, out of mind kind of people, but not me. I think of most of the friends from my past often. I wonder where they might have moved to, who they married, what they made of their life, if they ever met anyone I also know, what kind of people they are now, and would still be friends if I hadn't moved? It's so hard to know the answers to so many questions.

I know some friends are meant to be in our lives forever, and some just are meant to come and go. Each departure can be a bit heart-wrending though. Especially the friendships that a person questions themselves about. Did I drive them away? Is there something I could have done to keep our friendship alive? No one is perfect. I know that I have done things in my past that have made people decide to avoid me. At the time I thought I was making the right choices, but hindsight tells me that I should have tried to be more understanding instead. One particular high school friend comes to mind when I say this. We tried to be friends later, but it has never been the same and it doesn't seem she was ever all that comfortable with me after that. I'm SO sorry!

I have made friends in many different ways. When I was in school I was really involved in a lot of activities and going to church. More recently I have made friends by working with people, chatting with others on the internet, and my kid's friends' parents.

When I was 14 years old I placed an ad in BOP magazine for pen pals. At one point I had over 100 different pen pals. Life was pretty hectic for a while with all of those people writing to me. A few of them strike me as people I would have considered friends if we had better proximaty to each other.

One of them is someone I consider a true blue friend. We still write occassionally too, though as we age life gets more crazy. Yumiko lives in Japan though, so it makes getting together to visit a bit complicated. She came to America and stayed with my family and I a couple of times. When I was 18 she and I took a road trip to Chicago together. I have often wished I could afford to go to Japan to visit her there, but time, money, and circumstances have never allowed me to. I'm hoping she'll stop by and chat with us here sometime.

Other people I used to write to that I may have become friends with include a boy (Trevor) from Brisbane Australia, a girl (Bridgette) from Louisiana, a girl (Amy) from Canada, and a girl (Mary) from Texarkana, Arkansas. Sorry I stopped writing to you guys! I don't even remember that there was a reason or if we just all got too busy or what the deal was.

I thank God each and every day for the friends he sent my way. Some friends come for a reason, some for a season, and some for a lifetime. I think about you often and wish you the best in your life. Hopefully our paths will cross again some day.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy