on old friends
Yesterday, I had the sublime pleasure of spending time with a friend and her daughter that I hadn’t seen for years. And as you often hear, it was like no time had passed at all.
I met her in the 1980’s when I took a second job to make ends meet. She was my manager in a shop that sold clocks and art. Fast forward a few years and I recommended her for a customer service position at the company I was working. She was a natural. Her way of talking with people was stellar.
She knew my family. She knew my son. She was there through all the awful times. She was there through the good times, too.
We share a fondness for Young Frankenstein, Funny Girl, Airplane, and other films and often fall into character and quote lines from the films. Classic characters from Saturday Night Live are also included. Note: this phenomenon did not happen yesterday, for some reason. Perhaps we were too verklempt and busy talking amongst ourselves.
I met her in the 1980’s when I took a second job to make ends meet. She was my manager in a shop that sold clocks and art. Fast forward a few years and I recommended her for a customer service position at the company I was working. She was a natural. Her way of talking with people was stellar.
She knew my family. She knew my son. She was there through all the awful times. She was there through the good times, too.
We share a fondness for Young Frankenstein, Funny Girl, Airplane, and other films and often fall into character and quote lines from the films. Classic characters from Saturday Night Live are also included. Note: this phenomenon did not happen yesterday, for some reason. Perhaps we were too verklempt and busy talking amongst ourselves.
She said I should watch Elf and I did, despite not being a huge Will Ferrell fan. And during the long winters, I drink my afternoon tea from my Elf mug that she gave me. That tea tastes especially good.
She was a lifeline during my years in New Orleans. At times it felt like she was the only one on my side. Because of her I found the courage to reclaim my faith after having lost it when my son died. And while I don’t attend mass as I probably should, I do talk to that heavenly threesome every night.
She didn’t disappear when I went through my financial issues last year. (Yes… one friend dropped off entirely after that. Bankruptcy is not contagious. Pffft.)
I think I can even go so far as to say that she is a good part of the reason I am so full of gratitude.
While I value all my friends, the ones that have been through the different stages in life are on an entirely different level. They have survived the test of time: the growing older, greyer, more wrinkly, and the teensiest bit plumper parts.
I thank you, dear friend, for being who you are and loving me for who I am. I love you dearly and am looking forward to the next time.
She was a lifeline during my years in New Orleans. At times it felt like she was the only one on my side. Because of her I found the courage to reclaim my faith after having lost it when my son died. And while I don’t attend mass as I probably should, I do talk to that heavenly threesome every night.
She didn’t disappear when I went through my financial issues last year. (Yes… one friend dropped off entirely after that. Bankruptcy is not contagious. Pffft.)
I think I can even go so far as to say that she is a good part of the reason I am so full of gratitude.
While I value all my friends, the ones that have been through the different stages in life are on an entirely different level. They have survived the test of time: the growing older, greyer, more wrinkly, and the teensiest bit plumper parts.
I thank you, dear friend, for being who you are and loving me for who I am. I love you dearly and am looking forward to the next time.
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| heirlooms ©Trish Korous | 2017 |
yes, old friends are heirlooms.
ReplyDeletenew friends just haven't developed their patina yet.
What a lovely way to put it, Susan.
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