Friends. People who share your interests or values. When you're young, making friends is easy. You strike up a conversation on the playground or in the lunchroom. In high school, they might belong to the same club or athletic group. In college they could be your roommate or someone you study with. Sometimes friends follow us from childhood to old age.
When one becomes an adult, most often friends are made at work. That can be a bit trickier, because we often don't get to choose who we work with. Or through volunteer work, which is how I met a lot of my friends.
The folks who also volunteer for Legacy Boxer Rescue share the same passion for saving dogs. We not only support each other in this, but in other ways as well. When my husband suffered complications from heart surgery, numerous people stepped up with offers to help. We get together sometimes for happy hour or just to swap stories. We stay in touch on social media. We grieve with each other over the loss of family members, whether human or canine. I honestly don't know what I'd do without my rescue peeps.
Last, but not least, I have my author friends. We either met at writing conferences over the years, or at writing organizations or critique groups. We stay in touch on social media (most of us are introverts!) We often reconnect at a conference or a luncheon or a seminar. Writing friends are supportive too. They'll commiserate when we are busting our butt to make a deadlines, or juggling bills waiting for a publisher payment. They celebrate successes too - making a bestseller list, winning an award, or just finishing a book. I love my writer friends.
Since I moved around a lot growing up, I'm always envious of people who have friends from childhood all through life. I have a few with whom I've reconnected on Facebook or Instagram, but we don't truly know each other the way we would have if we'd spent years as friends in person.
How about you? Where do you meet most of your friends? Have you had any since you were a little kid?
I have different groups, like you do. I was so surprised that even at this point, I still make close friends. I do have friends from when I was a little kid, more from junior high. Having always lived in the same community, I take things like that for granted--thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteFriends. How lucky to have so many that you can share with. I have close ones and then those that you'd love to be closer with but life just seems to get in the way. No matter how many you have one to hundreds that keep our lives enriched. Sometimes I forget that fact! Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI have different groups, too. Which means I am pretty lucky. I have friends from when I was four that I still see weekly. And then there are my work friends, also known as my heroes. Then, but definitely not last, is my family. I love them and feel so blessed to have all of my friends. Thank you for the post!
ReplyDeleteI have friends that go back as far as kindergarten. I moved across the country years ago but thanks to social media we still keep in touch. Nothing as delightful to reconnect that way. Also my writing friends have sustained me through thick and thin for decades. Nice post, Karen!
ReplyDeleteI can so relate to your post. I recently reconnected with my best friend from junior high, which is great, but we've lost 30 years so it's not quite the same. We moved around a lot when I was a kid but I wish I'd kept up with some childhood friends. Fortunately, I have some wonderful friends now.
ReplyDeleteI have a group of childhood friends who I stay in contact with almost daily. A few of us live in the same area, but a few live across the country. But now, with technology, we group text all the time. We can have fun conversations and keep each other informed on what is happening in our lives. And at least once or twice a year, we get together to laugh and have fun in person!
ReplyDeleteI changed schools, so don't have those close since childhood friends that others do. (Bit jealous) I cherish the friends I do have, culled from working life, writing life, and a special geoup I've known for going on 40 years now. Ten of us, who supported each other through pregnancies, divorces, illnesses, and loss of family mwmbers. I consider myself blessed. Anyone notice men don't seem to have the same propensity for forming lasting friendships?
ReplyDeleteKaren, I'm like you. Went to 16 schools from kindergarten through tenth grade. I often think of the girls who were my closest friends in my formative years and have searched for them on Facebook, but never found them. It would have been nice to have life-long friends. I am blessed with one friend I met when I moved to Texas at age 15. I still live in Texas, and many, many decades later, we are still friends, though don't get to see each other as much as we'd like since we're an hour's drive apart.
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ReplyDeleteI too moved a lot, and I was always the new girl at school. Still, I have friends from high school forward that I've stayed in touch with for decades. My brothers have also been my best friends too.
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