“Weathered by pain. Sheltered by friends.” (Quoted in Reader’s Digest )
These words sum up simply so much of what I have been thinking about lately. Friends are important to me and my husband. Family is equally important, of course. We count our family members as friends, too.
If we are your friends, time and distance won’t separate us. We will travel miles to be with friends. We work at friendships. Some of our friends date back 30 or more years. My husband is still close to a guy he played with as a ten-year–old. And this isn’t a friendship that was rediscovered—it has been an on-going friendship for all of those years.
On our recent cruise to Alaska, we traveled with my husband’s life-long friend, his wife and another couple. As much as we enjoyed visiting Alaska again, the most important thing we did on this cruise was to spend precious time with our friends. We had a wonderful opportunity to get to know the third couple who traveled with us. Until this cruise, they were friends of friends—now I think of them as our friends, too. I came to appreciate them better—their intelligence, humor and general niceness.
Just a few days ago, we drove for an hour to have dinner with some friends who moved to another part of Florida. It’s something we do about once a month or so. The distance is inconsequential to us, if it means we have an opportunity to visit with these people.
We make sure that we make time for our friends whenever we go back to Buffalo, even though we have been in Florida for 13 years. And when our Buffalo friends come to Florida in the winter, we meet them at the beach.
Our friends sustained us through some very difficult times in our lives: my husband’s illness and my illness and the loss of our parents and other family members. When my husband was going to Tampa (an hour and a half one way drive) for his chemo and radiation, I could call on different friends to help me with the driving. No questions asked. They were there.
Our friends uplifted us when we faced three major hurricanes in a six week period a few years ago. Visiting with one another, playing cards and having a neighborhood cook-out with the contents of thawing freezers helped to us to weather the storm—literally.
Our friends accept us for what we are. They celebrate our joys and mourn our sorrows.
And yes, they help us to weather the pain of life and shelter us from the worst of the storm.
I wish all of you friendship. And I thank you for being my friend.
Family and friends are so very important to me. There is a saying that your family is given to you but you get to choose your friends. How lucky we are to have the best of both worlds! As a friend I will always be there when you want or need me because that’s what friends do. And my family is the most important part of my life. And I will be there always because you never know today if ther is tomorrow.
I totally agree. I think the best part is to feel that your family members are also your friends. We are very lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives. We thank God everyday.
Kathy, whenever you write I say ” yeah, I feel that way too,,,you put into words the feelings of us all…..when I was a little girl someone wrote into my autograph book (remember those?) “There’s a GOLD ship , there’s a SILVER ship, but the best ship is FRIENDSHIP……How true those words…….MY FRIEND!
Thanks, Leila. You have no idea how much these comments mean to me–after all, why write unless you touch people’s hearts? And the best ship is friendship–friend!
Kathy, you have always been the greatest frieind-finder, and your friends were so interesting and so varied, from the Killigan sisters and mother straight off the boat, to the Michaux’s to so many fellow teachers. It is great that you got to share Alaska with these particuar friends, whom I pray for everyday.
Thank you so very much, Tom. I feel that my friends have enriched my life–as has my family.
You are so right. Kathy. Friends accept us unconditionally. I think back at the time of my separation and divorce and had it not been for three very close friends I’m not sure how I would have handled many of the days during that period of time. I have been blessed over the years to have wonderful friends such as you and for that I will always be grateful.
Melanie
I am grateful for you, too Melanie. You have been such an inspiration to me. After your divorce, you grew as a woman and a person. You refused to let that terrible betrayal color the rest of your life–and it gives me great joy to see how happy you are now. And you are living your life on your own terms. God bless you.
I agree with you Kathy. Friends are very special. I feel blessed that you are my friend.
I feel the same way.
Dear Kathy,
It is such a joy to read your blog…your musings are little slices of life with which we can relate.
“Make new friends, but keep the old,
One is silver and the other gold.”
I remember those words from a camp song
we sang at The Methodist Church Camp
At Silver Lake, New York.
You are my Silver Friend from Solivita.
And you are from Buffalo that is special too.
My gold friends are from long ago and they are all ages.
Some of my students that I taught in Elementary School
still write to me.
My Art Bartering colleagues became friends over the years,
TIA, Cynthia Skura, my dress designer was young enough to be my daughter. While in St. James and Pt. Jeff, she designed fabulous outfits for me. Now she is completing a degree and did several of her papers on my art. Now she is working on the Environmental Protection of our waters
and we share her discoveries and challenges.
Marilyn Abt lived up the block in our Pt. Jeff town house development,
The Terraces. At first we bartered her assistance for my art work. Now that I am down here in FL, we communicate like sisters. In fact I call her my “Fourth Sister.”
My three sisters and two brothers are friends too. Some of you may remember My story of “Siblings Celebrating Sixty!” I am the oldest of six. I was the first one to turn sixty. So they sent me sixty gifts sixty days in advance of my birthday. Opening one gift day in advance was to ease the shock of turning 60. That was 14 years ago. (Kathy say to write out the numbers) Anyway my family is still that caring.
My recent medical challenge was conquered through love of friends and family’s calls, cards and visits. Ellen’s Sketch of an angel healing maze on a manhole cover ws a precious gesture of caring.
My husband, best friend of over fifty-four years, Al is always there for me. Alice Jenson said: “Look at how he cares about you!”
And my neighbor, Donna Miaskiwicz commented,”You lived a charmed life!”She’s right and I owe it all to my family and friends!
See what you provoked with your topic. Sorry, Kathy, instead of slice of life, I gave you the whole pie.!”
Blessings to you and Tom for a splendid week!
Love,
Bobbi Mastrangelo
Thank you , Bobbi, for sharing these lovely stories. As I’ve said before, these responses mean a lot to me. I am humbled that my blog touches other people’s lives.I feel that our friendship has deepened through this blog. Blessings!
Bobbi, You are so special and you bring out the best in people!
Ellen Gordon,
Bringing out the best in people is a quality I learned from you.
I treasure the healing angel-maze manhole cover sketch you designed for me, “The Manhole Artist.”
Blessings,
Bobbi Mastrangelo
How nice…you both are treasurers.
Haven’t gone through a storm with you or held your hand in sickness. Wasn’t there to drive your husband to Tampa or grieve with you at the loss of your parents. But I see myself as your friend of friends as we melt into the fellowship of women writers.
I value you as a friend, too. Being a writing sister journeying with me to publication has cemeted our relationship.