Today I am participating in a very special Blog Hop organised by Mary and Bongo – ‘Blogging and Friends’. To link in please visit Bongo Is Me and Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease.
This morning Andrey`s Mom said goodbye to her best friend. She passed away 1 month before her 80th birthday. They had been friends for 60 years! That made me think about friendship and my best friends.
When I was a little girl I had a friend who lived two houses from us – Izelle. We were really good friends and we shared everything. Then we went to separate schools and slowly we drifted apart. I lost contact with her over the years and when I went to South Africa in 2010, I caught up with her. There was a Grand Canyon between us but our thoughts kept on drifting back to the times when we were young. It was wonderful to take a trip down memory lane.
In primary school I also had another very good friend – Hannelie. They moved from another town and she ended up in my class. I think we were both 9 at the time. We went to the same primary and secondary schools and although Hannelie had a lot of friends we always remained very close throughout the years. I even stayed with them for a year after I left school. The friendship I share with Hannelie is a precious one. We can go without talking for years and when we re-connect we laugh and joke like old friends. Time is not important. She married Andrey and I and I share a very spiritual friendship with her.
After school I met Helene. We worked for the same company and became close friends. Our children were more or less the same age and we had a lot in common. Some years later they moved to another province but we always stayed in contact. Now they live in Australia.
For many years I didn`t have a special friend. It was mainly my own fault. I couldn`t open up and share. I was scared of being judged. Maybe it is also a sign that I didn`t trust people enough with my own fragile feelings especially after I got divorced. Instead my Diary became my best friend.
Then I moved to Argentina and again I was without a friend (apart from my husband) until Monica breezed into my life. It is the first time that I have a friend much younger than me. Monica is my soul mate. I share everything with her and a more loyal and beautiful friend I cannot find. She knows when I hurt, when I laugh, when I need somebody. She brightens up my life and she always put a smile on my face. Distance is not a problem and once a year we see each other. She hops on the plane, fly 13 hours and come to visit me.I love her to bits.
If I look at all my friendships over the years then I realize how much I have grown as a person. I value each one of them and each person has contributed something to my development as an individual. I have lost many `friends` over the years but the true friends have stood by me. Loyalty and respect are characteristics that are very important to me.
I am also very fortunate to have made friends over the Internet. The support of the Blogging community is incredible. I feel like I belong to a family.
How do you say goodbye to a friend that has been by your side for 60 years? I don`t even want to think about it but it is a reality. Right now I want to hug all my dear friends and tell them how much they mean to me.
But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.
Thomas Jefferson
I’m sorry that your mum-in-law lost a friend – it must be so difficult for her. Thank you for sharing about your three friends – the pictures that went with your descriptions were so good too. May you continue to enjoy the blessed comfort of good friends, Nelieta. ♥
Thank you very much Dear Corinne! Friendship is so important. My mother-in-law is not saying much but I can see she is taking it difficult. Have a blessed week!
I didn’t notice among the Blogging and Friends posts. I’m glad my Guardian angel led me to this. I appreciate the friendships you’ve had throughout the years.
I’m sorry about the loss and the separations but in reality I think we carry with us a piece of our friends’ heart so they are always with us.
Wow and you have pictures to remind you 😀
I’m sharing this 😉
You know Melissa, I wrote the post..something was pressing for me to write about it. When I went back to link it, I realized that I misinterpreted the title..it should have been about friendships formed through blogging! I never linked it 🙁 I am glad you Guardian angel led you to this post..maybe there is a message in there for somebody else 🙂 You are right, we carry a piece of each and every friend in our heart even if we do lose contact over the years. Thank you for sharing!