The Vine, Winter 2023
A reflection on the value of good friends
As we walk along life’s highway there are no better moments than those we spend with a friend. Friends are the people who really know us, who can make us laugh when we would rather cry and who know just what to say at the right time. People will walk in and out of our lives, but the one who leaves a footprint in our heart is a friend.
We have all experienced that moment when you meet someone for the first time and instantly a switch flicks and two kindred souls connect. A brother (or sister) from another mother is standing right in front of you. We realize even in silence that we know one another and they become our chosen families through thick and thin.
I have been fortunate in life to have made many good friends. Over the many years, we have done many wonderful things together. We have taken trips all over the world, laughed and drank and eaten many fine meals into the wee hours of the morning. We have pursued common interests and have loved every moment of it. We have also shared moments of grief and consoled one another when life has dealt us a blow. We have all worked at building and nurturing our friendships, because we know we don’t get the same chances twice.
Not long ago, I accompanied a dear friend on a fly-fishing excursion. We returned to his home where he prepared a sumptuous meal and we drank a lovely wine. As we gazed out at the countryside during our meal, we were speechless, both caught in the moment, realizing the gift of our friendship and knowing that the only way to have a friend is to be one.
If our friends had not walked into our lives when they did, our book of life would have had a lot fewer chapters and a lot fewer laughs.
Friends do not care if your house is clean; they care that they are welcome in your home. It is not what we have in life, but rather who we have in our lives.
Fly fishing photo: iStockphoto.com/lisegagne.
