Friends..............

I had a shock the other evening. Someone came to the door and my husband answered. Shock turned to pleasure as I realized it was my friends Chris and Randy. I was shocked because I didn't know they were anywhere near here and then pleasure because I have not seen them since we all left England so many years ago. We have stayed in touch over the years, especially now with Facebook. I knew they were visiting family in Illinois but didn't know about the Michigan visit. A neighbour of theirs in Virginia spends summers in Michigan, more specifically in Traverse City. Well, turns out only one street away from me. So.............we got to chat for a few minutes and agreed to coffee next morning before they headed home to Virginia. How great was that? When it comes to old friends it seems we can pick up more or less where we left off. So much to say, so many years to cover and yet we don't really need to because we know.............we just know. The years certainly have been kind to them. I would have known them both anywhere. When we were young..........ah I love that.......when we were young Chris and me worked together for many years. She had a cousin who was dating an American and got invited to the base at Chicksands. She met her soon to be husband there. She invited me to go one evening and that was the start of a whole new life for us all. The Airmans club was awesome. Such fun we had. There was a dance floor, a band, and food and drink. It was like a nightclub but with very strict rules of behavior. Anyway it ended up that a whole bunch of us started to go there on a regular basis and we all married Americans, we are all still married and we all stay in touch. We don't see each other though as we live all over the country. I think its time to change that. Now I really want to see the rest of those old friends while we still can. What a vacation that would be going all over the country to meet them. These women who are my friends, I have spent the best times of my life with. We have shared so much. My old friends who knew me when I was young and have a special place in my heart. We came from the same background, the same place and the same country. We all moved to a foreign country with our spouses and into a different world with strangers. We understand each other. The friends I have made here I also treasure, its a different friendship maybe, built on a different foundation but I treasure it just as much. They knew only the grown up me. Probably would never have recognized me back in those days. I don't give up on friends, I treasure them too much for that. I need them in my life and I care about each and every one. There are people I have known since I was 4 years old that I am still in touch with. I could never give up on that.............its an honour, a privilege to have a friend and an old friend is as much to be treasured as a diamond. I have special friends who know who they are and I love them more than anything in the world.