#Friendship

THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL

 

We have a friend who we know is sad this Christmas

who can’t help but feel blue…

(I imagine some of you out there have a friend just like this too.)

 

When we see how sadness touches someone’s heart…

we search for the right words to say…

or something we can do…to make their sadness go away.

 

But sadness does not always heed the words spoken by you…or me.

Sadness has it’s own agenda…it’s own chronology. 

 

So…when our words fail to soothe…or joy and laughter bring…

when a person we love is still engulfed in sadness…

we do the next best thing…

 

We sit in silence with them…we show them that we care.

We let them know…any time…any place…

when they need us…we’ll be there.

 

By our silent smile, touch…or hug…through their sorrow they will learn…

we will ride with them through their sadness…until their happiness returns.

 

And as future Christmases come and go…

we hope they will recall…

the Christmas we gave them our friendship…

perhaps the greatest gift of all.

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KABIR AND MAX

 

 

 

When he was a young boy in India Kabir loved to read neath his favorite tree…

only pausing to watch the clouds…

some times he’d read in silence…other times…aloud.

 

One day while reading he noticed…out of the corner of his eye

a young elephant, about his age, innocently strolling by.

 

As Kabir began to read aloud the young elephant’s ears perked up in surprise….

and when he gently sat down next to him…he looked into Kabir’s eyes.

 

“Please read on.” The elephant said. “I want to hear how this story ends.

(This is the day they shall long remember when the two became best friends.)

 

One day as they sat reading together…their feet dangling in the brook…

Kabir announced, “I shall call you Max…after our favorite character in our favorite book!”

 

“Max is perfect.” The elephant smiled proudly rising to his feet…

“and it is under this very tree where we wild things shall meet.”

 

And for many years Kabir and Max would read together

sometime they laughed…sometimes they cried

beneath their favorite tree…sitting side by side.

 

But little boys and little elephants grow up…time can indeed be fleeting

and with families of their own…the wild things stopped meeting.

 

But one day as the two friends walked together…up ahead…

what did their old eyes see…

Kabir’s son reading to Max’s son…underneath their favorite tree.

 

Max and Kabir smiled at one another…remembering back to an earlier day….

“And I shall call you Max.” They heard behind them…

as the two old friends walked away.

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THANKFUL FOR FRIENDS

 

This is a week to give thanks…to look around us…to explore

and to think about all we we have in life…that we are thankful for

 

Yesterday I was thankful for our house…and all the years it’s seen us through

Today I’m thankful for all the friends I have…every friend I ever knew. 

 

I’m thankful for my old friends…for old friends carry this truth…

they help me mark the passage of time…while reminding me of my youth.

 

With old friends we share memories of good times we thought would never end…

for nothing sweetens up a memory…like the laughter of old friends..

 

I am thankful for my present friends…who always find a way…

no mater what the circumstances…to brighten up my day.

 

Friends who only offer friendship…knowing at times the journey will be rough…

who know by the smiles they awaken…their friendship is enough.

 

I’m thankful to have lived a life…where different friends have visited me…

friends I know that I can count on…

and friends who know they can count on me.

 

And while I’m being thankful for old and present friends…

no friend recognition would be complete…

without adding thanks for all my new friends  

those friends I’ve yet to meet.

 
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JOHN AND JUJUBES

 

 

You may wonder where this story’s going but bear with me please

as I take you on a little journey from friendship to Jujubes.

 

We met him on one of our morning walks…soon after we retired…I’m not exactly sure what year…it was where our two walks coincided…by the water…on the pier.

 

He, like us, was walking early…it’s also how he began his day…

At first we only shared a smile and a Good Morning as we passed along the way.

 

But from those simple smiles and greetings we found a basis to build a friendship on…

Now he calls us the Happy Wanderers…and we respectfully call him John.

 

I’m not sure exactly when it happened…when our lives began to blend to the point where I can say with certainly…the three of us are friends.

 

I suppose it was when we stopped passing each other on our morning walks…

when we took the time to get to know each other…when we took the time to talk.

 

Now we talk about our families and our children when we pause in the early morn…

We were there to congratulate John when his great grandchildren were born.

 

John loves to share memories…of his family…of the crisp New England air…

and at over 80 years upon this Earth he has a host of memories to share.

 

We were talking together one morning…enjoying a cool October breeze…

When John’s face lit up then he asked us, “Do you remember Jujubes?”

 

Of course we remembered Jujubes…and John smiled as we stood there by the shore…

for when he talked about Jujubes…he wasn’t 80 any more.

 

He was a child at a movie theater up north…long before he retired south…

watching a movie with his friends or family…stuffing Jujubes in his mouth.

 

Many days later…with a flourish…but without much fanfare, pomp or fuss

John surprised us with some Jujubes…a box for each of us.

 

As he handed us our Jujubes he said with a twinkle and a smile…

“The best way to eat them is not to chew them but to suck on them a while.”

 

Which I did….all the way home a mouthful of Jujubes I was sucking on…

as I thought about how lucky we are…to have a friend like John.

 
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THE FRIEND-SHIP

 

 

I see my self as captain of a ship sailing across life’s ocean…

steering at a slow and steady rate…

and how my sailing is made easier and more rewarding by the friends I accumulate.

 

As I sail to different destinations…

I find from day to day

new friends can board at any port…

while some old friends go ashore along the way.

 

Some old friends will return for a visit…

to share a story…a laugh…a cry…

for there is always room upon my ship…

for those who’ve said goodbye.

 

That is the wonder of our sailing ships…

once a friend has boarded…no matter where or when…

our friendship re-ignites 

once our ships cross paths again.

 

If I’m lucky some friends will ride with me forever…

across oceans vast and wide…

and I shall always feel safe, secure…and happy 

knowing they are by my side.

 

Knowing wherever my journey takes me…

through weather foul or fair…

all I have to do is turn around 

and they’ll be standing there…

 

And knowing as they captain their ships…

as our hopes and dreams we share…

all they have to do is turn around…

to find me standing there.

 

Ready to lend an ear…a hand…a hug…

with a smile or a kind word to say…

as we ride on each other’s friend-ship…

until our ocean fades away.

 
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AVA AND THE JEWELER

 

 

Today was a special day for us…for Ava our granddaughter…

and for our friend Kim…who happens to be a jeweler too

but this is a story that begins 16 years ago…so let me now review:

 

That’s when Ava, our only granddaughter chose our world to enter…and adorn

and on that day between Deborah and I…the seed of an idea was born…

 

We decided to buy Ava a charm bracelet…minus any charms…

(in our minds our direction was clear)

on this bracelet we would add a different charm each year.

 

Each charm would represent a special memory…a time…a place…a scene

chosen each year of her life…until she turned 16.

 

For her first birthday we found Kim, a jeweler,

(we liked the tattoos emblazoned on her arm)

and when we told her of our plan…she was happy to attach the charm.

 

Kim did such a wonderful job with that first charm…our path ahead was clear…

we thought: What if we left Ava’s bracelet and its new charm in Kim’s hands each year!

 

So every year for the last 16 we did what we had done the year before…

We handed Ava’s bracelet and her new charm to Kim at her jewelry store.

 

I don’t know exactly when or how it happened…during the time one year begins and another ends but somewhere within those 16 years the jeweler and her customers became friends.

 

How quickly 16 years have passed…16 years we would’t have missed…and Ava was euphoric when we finally clasped the bracelet 'round her wrist.

 

But once we saw that bracelet on her wrist…we realized the gift wasn’t over yet…not until Ava and her bracelet…and Kim, the jeweler met.

 

So that’s why yesterday was so special…seeing Ava and Kim…arm in arm…connected for a lifetime…by a bracelet filled with charms.

 

Now…whenever Ava looks at her bracelet…hopefully she’ll be aware…

of the people and places each charm represents…

and of the jeweler who put them there

 
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AFTER THE RAIN

 

 

Tragedy bursts into our lives like a sudden thunderstorm

raining down grief, 

sorrow 

heartache

and once the rain subsides

leaving a path of sadness and destruction in its wake.

 

And though the initial tragedy may take but a moment

the heartache and sorrow remain

once the clouds have departed 

and the sun returns….

long after the rain.

 

Feelings of sadness from a tragedy

often linger after the rain

because there is no time limit on sorrow

no deadline to a person’s pain.

 

When we know someone who’s experienced a tragedy

who’s sorrow will not fade away

and we’re at a loss not knowing what to do

how to act 

or even what to say…

 

Sometimes the best we can do is sit with them in silence

nothing spoken…

nothing planned.

and let them rest their head upon our shoulders

while we gently hold their hand.

 

To show them that whatever happens

we will follow where they lead…

to offer them our friendship 

and let them know

they can take as much time as they need.

 

For though we cannot take away their sorrow…

perhaps we can absorb some of their pain…

each time their memories and their sorrow returns…

long after the rain.

 
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FRIENDSHIP WITH A RABBIT

 

 

I met this rabbit on my morning walk…two months ago…near as I recollect…

He was sitting in the center of where two roads intersect.

 

I said, “Good morning, little rabbit. Isn’t it a pretty morning? How are you?”

Little rabbit did not answer…but then…rabbits seldom do.

 

But neither did he hop away…he just watched me walk on by…

I remember thinking…that was odd…and pausing to wonder why.

 

The next day…the same scenario….if my memory is correct…

the two of us met up again where the two roads intersect.

 

This became our normal routine…I’d greet him…walk by…he wouldn’t’ flee…

until…one day…without notice…he began to hop along with me.

 

Sometimes he’d hop beside me on the street…sometimes on people’s lawns instead…but, realizing I walked too slow…he often hopped ahead.

 

We’d walk and hop together to the end of the street and I don’t know the reason why…

it was here he’d stop…look up at me…as if to say goodbye.

 

The other morning, as had become our routine, I saw him up ahead…but much to my surprise…as I neared the spot we’d meet…little rabbit faded from my eyes.

 

Were the street lights and shadows playing tricks on me…bewildering my eyes…

or was that the ghost of little rabbit stopping by to say goodbye?

 

All I know is from that moment…I remember exactly where and when…

Little rabbit’s not been back to hop with me again.

 

I take this as a reminder to cherish our friendships every minute of every day…

because we never know in this ever-changing world when they may fade away.

 

And though I know ours was a short friendship…

I still miss him…

and in retrospect…

I shall always cherish a friendship made…

where two roads intersect.

 
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OLD FRIENDS

I picked up my old high school yearbook from on the shelf where it has stood for many years and when I opened it I thought…it smelled like childhood.

 

Browsing through its pages I found, much to my delight, how my old f friends and even I looked good in black and white.

 

I found faces I remember…friends I use to know…

moments captured for eternity…a long, long time ago.

 

Names I still remember…Marilyn, Joe and John…

I remember so many wonderful moments spent together…

and how, in a moment…they were gone.

 

Gone…as we left to find our places in the world…

wondering what futures 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 the people in this yearbook helped determine who I’d be.

 

I turned to a photo of me standing with my friends…smiling…seemingly without a care…and I realized I wouldn’t be standing where I am today…if I hadn’t been standing there.

 

Standing with my childhood friends…friends who helped me find my way…friends who helped transform the boy I was back then into the man I am today.

 

Yes, looking at old photos of a young me…and old friends I can still name…I wondered if anyone who picks up their old yearbook doesn’t feel the same.

 

Doesn’t smile as they look back on a different time…a different where and when…

and wonder who’d they be today…without the friends they had back then.

 
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