The Gift of Friendship

Since we just celebrated Valentine’s Day on Monday, I thought I would broach the subject of friendship.

What characteristics of a friend are important to you?  I believe many of my characteristics will also be yours.  I tend to be drawn to friends that are dependable, inspirational, loyal, fun, a good listener, non-judgmental, and honest.  And I hope that I am all those things to my friends.

Friendship was detrimental to me while living such a transient life.  Imagine for a moment that you moved two to three times a year, meaning you started in the same number of new schools where you didn’t know a soul.  That was me.  That was how I grew up.  But fortunately, I was able to find a friend at most locations.

When I was about four, we moved to a small town, Hatch, New Mexico, near the White Sands National Park.  The neighbors next door had six children, the youngest daughter, Rosie, was about my age.  We would play in the caliche (gravel) area in front of the homes.  We would pick up various rocks, trying to find the special one.  That particular day, Rosie invited me inside her house to meet her four older sisters and one brother.  As we headed outside, her sisters stopped her to whisper something in her ear, which I thought was strange.  Several minutes passed in our ground excavation, then suddenly Rosie picked up a rock, and wham! Hit me in the head.

I fell to the ground, shocked, while blood trickled down my face.  Crying and in pain, I began running for my house while Rosie disappeared.  Thankfully, my dad was home, and he immediately took me to the bathroom counter to begin cleaning me up and calming me down.  While washing off the gash, he asked questions to investigate the incident.  He gently cut away a tiny amount of my hair then applied the miracle antiseptic used in the 1960s, mercurochrome, called “monkey’s blood.”   I screamed as it burned while Dad blew on the wound to lessen the sting.

After consoling me, Dad walked next door to question Rosie.  He asked her why she would hit me?  I was her friend.  Rosie’s only comment was that her sisters told her to do it.  With the other siblings out of sight, Dad returned home.  Dad was always looking at things positively, but Dad suggested finding a new friend after this incident. There weren’t many children my age in the neighborhood, so I could not locate another friend in that location.  Fortunately, you might say, we were off and moving to the next stop.

I became an avid pen pal throughout the years we were being transferred.  Daily I would scribble out a letter to a friend I had just left.  I single-handedly kept the USPS afloat.  Ha! Ha! I can remember when the stamp was $.05.  The important thing about a written letter was we could read it repeatedly, stick it under our pillow, put it in our diary, or rip it up, depending on the wording.  When I got married, all those letters went in File 13 (the garbage can).

As adults, our friendships require that both people invest time and cultivate trust and honesty.  Close friendships are associated with greater happiness, self-esteem, and a sense of purpose.  Psychology Today states that new evidence suggests friendship provides the most benefit during adolescence and old age.  Close connections promote healthier and longer lives.

May you find friendships in every place you land.

• https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/relationships/g5055/friendship-quotes/
• https://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/a4028/friendships-aristotle-utility-ethics-lifestyles/

All my best,

Julie

Be sure to check out the two-affiliate links I’ve included below.

• Bookcamp is a great place to learn to write your story for your children and grandchildren. Inspirational people to guide you all the way.
• LifeWriter’s US – Five-Year Journal – an excellent way to write your daily affirmations and life happenings. This is a hard-bound journal with five lines per entry (you write the date of each entry). I love this journal.  I’m currently enrolled in this program.