Friendship

a one of a kind relationship

I spent the better part of an hour on the phone with my friend. I don’t use the term friend lightly, and Sue and I have been friends real friends for about 75 years. Our mothers were friends before us, and we have followed in their footsteps all these years. We don’t talk often, but when we do, we catch up on everything that’s important to us, and we are both aware that this relationship is important and meaningful and rare. We are extremely different in almost every way, philosophically, spiritually politically and in any other area that would drive a wedge through a friendship, but we won’t let that happen. She is a liberal, I’m a conservative. She’s a city girl, and I live in the country.., as children we took dance together, and she moved to California to become a ballerina, I stayed back east and became an alcoholic.This is a relationship that goes beyond politics and other differences. We can agree to disagree and just love each other for who we are, and where we have beenwithout animosity or judgment. We have such history together, and photographs that make us laugh and remember that history. Some black-and-white prints of two little girls in a wading pool or in dance recital tutus, or as young mothers with our babies, or working in the garden together.

Now, when we talk, it’s about our recent surgeries, her knee replacements, my back pain, and the fact that we both find stairs harder to climb these days. We talk about our children and our grandchildren, successes, and failures, Our joys and our sorrows. Nothing earth shattering, but it feels epic because of the longevity of our relationship. We are aware of our differences, we don’t need to talk about them because we find joy in so many other things

Relationships like this are few and far between I believe. And fewer in this day and age with a throwaway, cancel culture society. I feel blessed and special to have this kind of friendship. It is a treasure.