You’ve got a friend in me . . .
I love Randy Newman’s song from Toy Story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB2gPZRsz0Q And who could find a more unlikely friendship than a toy cowboy and a toy astronaut? Even in real life, a cowhand and an astronaut may not quite be on the same wavelength.
Friends . . . to infinity and beyond.
A post by a friend of mine on friendships gave me pause for thought today.
How many friends have I had since I was a little girl? How many have I lost? How many are still there? How many are new ones?
There is no answer really, because like the ebb and flow of a tide, so friendships come and go. Some are on a rock-hard base of shared life experiences, some are on the shifting sands of a shared interest and some are built on fresh air.
In my case I invest emotion into my friendships. I like to listen to stories but I like people to listen to me too. If I am there for them in their dark moments, I want them to be there for me in mine.
My oldest friendship died along with my oldest friend. She was my bestest friend from primary school and after university we lost touch but crossed paths again a few years ago. Sadly she had cancer and we tried to hold onto what we had lost and re-visit all that she remembered of our young years. I spent the second last day of her life with her and it was joyous and brave and I miss her. At her funeral, I met up with another lost friend and we vowed and declared on her memory, to touch base regularly even though we live in different states. We have kept the bargain and I am delighted.
I have a whole host of e-friends now, thanks to being published, and we have more fun gossiping in Chatzy and by email, even on FB and blogs than I could have thought possible. How blessed am I at my age?
The lost friends are best left alone . . . but I will say this: exhibitions of racism, xenophobia, selfishness and egotism were the individual weights that sank those friendships. It hurt when they disappeared but as Corinne’s article points out, (http://www.squidoo.com/when-to-end-a-friendship) toxic relationships are a waste of precious time.
In the end its all a compromise and that’s why I love Buzz Lightyear and Woody. In the case of all my friends, both old and new: To Infinity and Beyooooonnnd!
You picked one of my favorites to highlight today. Buzz and Woody certainly do make an unlikely partnership, showing us that friendship can, indeed, triumph over silly little differences, e.g., coming from different planets, having different professions and dreaming different dreams. The fact that their friendship endures through T.S. 2 AND there’s a T.S. 3 coming out, makes me believe they could be BFFs!
Thank you for this.
Corinne
In a way, all we E-friends are from different planets too, aren’t we. Bags be Buzz! I love the way he says ‘To infinity and beyond.’
nice post on friends.
“toxic relationships are a waste of precious time” – so true.
I have invested way too much energy in toxicity Velvet and life is now too short. Onwards and upwards!
This is a subject I’ve thought a lot about over my lifetime, too. I don’t hold on to friends very well, it seems. Some people have a gift for friendship and some of us, like me, have to concentrate harder to remember how precious and vulnerable it is. I am honored to number you among my few friends, and will hold on to you to infinity and beyond!
You can be Woody, I have already bagged Buzz. He’s my shape on a post-chocolate day!
The way I see it; friendship is a miracle!!
Your story with your oldest friend is very touching Prue, and I am so sorry for your loss… Friendship is not easy to bond and true friends are hard to come by; it requires a selfless, honest heart and willingness to invest time and emotions. But I think it is all worth it when you have a true friend!
P.S: I LOVE that song 🙂
It seems as though there are cycles for friendship. It was easy to make friends in high school and college — and I’m happy to still be in touch with the core people from that time. Then there was a long time when I didn’t think I would make NEW friends. Acquaintances, people to interact with, yes. But friends of the heart, not so much. For the last couple of years, however, the path seems open once again, and I am making new friends whom I KNOW will join me through the adventures ahead. And not just happy/sad, but giddy fun and exploration. Unexpected miracles, yes. And at a time when I am able to feel conscious of the gift and to treasure it “in the moment” as well as reflectively.
My friend was a miracle in her own right, Lua. For fifteen years she battled breast cancer and yet was a gift to her rural neighbourhood, setting up full childcare facilities in the small country town and being genuinely loved. When I received the call to visit on that second last day, I never expected to see such courage in the face of the darkest day of her life. We laughed and reminisced and I left feeling so proud to have known her. She, strong girl, had arranged everything for her family . . . house painted, funeral organised, girls’ boyfriends sussed out, tickets for husband to have a holiday, eulogy written. It was a lesson that I shall never forget.
Friends of the heart . . . wonderful expression . . . an unexpected miracle . . . so true.
Very well put. It’s a hard lesson to know when to let go of a friendship, and even when you have realised that, you can still be haunted by regret, guilt (even when blameless!) and sadness that it went wrong in the first place, but ultimately if it’s wrong, you just have to get past all those things.
Thank you for sharing with us the story of reconnecting with your childhood friend – it was really touching. I’m going to go and text my childhood best friend right now, in fact.
It’s a lesson in time and never taking things for granted, Clare, isn’t it?