#friends

ONE YEARBOOK PHOTO

 

 When I heard an old friend from high school was sick

I picked up my high school yearbook from the shelf were it has stood.

and when I opened it…I paused…it smelled like childhood.

 

I hadn’t seen this friend for many years but we’ve kind of kept in touch

and much to my delight

I found a picture of the two of us…looking good in black and white.

 

We were in our high school football uniforms…a wonderful moment from our past.

If I remember correctly…

I was short, and weak and slow…he was big and strong and fast.

 

I have always loved this picture…we looked mean…because that’s what our coach preferred…

Although, again, if I remember correctly…neither of us were.

 

When our high school and football careers were over we parted

wondering in the world what we might find…

excited at the possibilities…grateful for the friends we left behind.

 

I did not know back then…I was much too young to see

how this friend like others in my yearbook…would help determine who I’d be.

 

I did not know back then…but have since become aware…

that I wouldn’t be who I am today…

If I hadn’t been with them back there.

 

I never had the chance to thank him…or them…for how they found a way…

to help transform the boy I was…into the man I am today.

 

So now…my prayers and thanks go out to him and his family…

as I stare at this photo from 1970 again…

for I don’t know where I’d be today…

without your friendship…way back then.

 

It’s amazing when you think about it…once you’ve made a friend

no matter how many years have passed…or how long you’ve been apart

two room are always reserved for them…

one inside your memories…and the other inside your heart.

 
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THANKFUL FOR FRIENDS

 

Today be thankful for all the friends you’ve made in life

wherever you’ve traveled…

near or far.

because your friends are perhaps the best indication

of exactly who you are,

 
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FRIENDS

 

 Have you ever looked at an old friend,

thought back to when the two of you met…long ago,

and wondered when was the moment that seed of friendship was planted…and what has allowed it to grow?

 

Was it something in their greeting?

Was it in their smile…in their eyes?

Was their friendship something you expected…or did it take you by surprise?

 

Was it when you shared your stories…

your laughter, your dreams, your fears…your woes?

Is it somewhere between the laughter and the tears…

when friendship starts to grow?

 

Perhaps you were too young to truly comprehend…

how you’ll meet people in your life who are destined to be your friend.

 

People whom when you meet them…the feeling in both of you is strong…

that even though you’re strangers…you’ve known each other all along.

 

Or am I overthinking this?

Since everyone is different it’s impossible to know

what binds two people together…what makes their friendship grow.

 

And we should just be happy to be blessed with old friends…

who’ve been around since we were young…

Friends with whom we’ve laughed and cried

and played, and danced and sung.

 

And blessed to have made new friends we’ve met along the way

new friends we’ve added to the old…

who all help to make our life more beautiful…and a wonder to behold…

 

Today would be a good day to thank our old and new friends

for making our life more enjoyable, more adventurous…and sweet…

and while we’re at it to take a moment and thank…

those new friends we’ve yet to meet.

 
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THANKKFUL FOR FRIENDS

 

Today I’m thankful for friends…

A friend is someone who

(I’m sure you’ve heard this before)

makes us laugh a little harder

cry a little less

and smile a little more.

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FRIENDS

 

May you be blessed to have friends in your ife

who smile every time they think of you…

Friends who, every time you think of them

you can’t help but smile too.

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THE SECRET OF OLD FRIENDS

 

We had dinner with two dear old friends at a restaurant yesterday…

Old friends reminded me of this old poem I bring back to life today:

 

They meet as strangers…unfamiliar…apprehensive…

their first meeting…tentative but sweet.

Which, when you stop to think about it, is how most people meet.

 

From this uncertain beginning…their relationship extends

They find they have a lot in common…and strangers become friends.

 

Their friendship is strengthened by laughter, by sharing hopes and dreams,

by holding on to one another as they ride through life’s extremes.

 

But life is unpredictable…this path that destiny lays…

and sometimes friends must bid adieu…and go their separate ways.

 

They part amid some sadness, yet happy at what they’ve achieved…

for they have given the gift of friendship, and the gift of friendship have received.

 

Years slip by until they meet again…this meeting; tenderhearted 

It’s as if there was no loss of time…as if they never parted.

 

They are experiencing one of life’s wonders…shared only among friends…

That friendship has no time limit…that it’s memory never ends.

 

Yes, old friends understand the secret…

new friends will one day learn

That friendship never says goodbye…

but waits patiently for its return.

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FRIENDS

 

May we be blessed to have the kind of friends…

who are caring, supportive and kind….

who bring a smile to our face

every time they cross our mind.

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MEMORY AND TIME

 

I’m in awe of my memory…all those snapshots and movies it’s amassed…

Providing me with a simple way to revisit moments from my past.

 

I was visiting old friends this morning who across my memory have spread…

Smiling as their pictures and their movies danced inside my head.

 

I enjoyed watching the show…catching up with every him…and every her…

and it made me realize the beauty of memory is how it captures the way we were.

 

I was happy when I realized…after taking those memories out to play

how some of those friends from my memories…are still my friends today.

 

How we’ve all grown a little older…hopefully with dignity and grace…

How there is still a youthfulness behind our eyes despite more wrinkles on our face.

 

Which helps me see in old friends the beauty of this truth…

How they not only reveal the passage of time…

but remind us of our youth.

 

And when old friends get together…

when we’re fortunate enough to relive moments we all hoped would never end….

that’s when we realize nothing sweetens up a memory more…

than the laughter of old friends.

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GOOD FRIENDS

 

There is an old adage: Good friends are hard to find…

I think that’s a somewhat pessimistic point of view

one I have found, over the years, to be anything but true.

 

Since retiring…on our morning walks 

we’ve been amazed how frequently we meet

the same people who walk the same time…

usually along the same streets.

 

Friendships that started with a smile and a wave

as we passed each other walking…

which led to ‘Hi’, 'How are you?’ ‘Have a great day!’

you know…superficial talking.

 

But from ‘Nice to see you’, ‘Can you believe this weather?’

‘Hey, how have you been?’

There comes a point in a friendship when you let each other in.

 

A point when you see them walking toward you

and you immediately wave…then smile…

knowing you’ll be stopping…just to visit for a while.

 

As you talk about your families…your ups and downs in life

your children, your vacations, your histories, your partner or your wife

 

It is at this point…this juncture as your lives begin to blend…

you realize somewhere along the way…you have become good friends.

 

Which is why ‘good friends are hard to find’

is an adage you’ll never hear me repeat….

because a good friend could be someone…

whom you meet along the street….

 

Thinking good friends are hard to find…

is truly a mistake…

because good friends aren’t something you find…

good friends are something you make.

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