Heart wing says, ” In so many ways in our lives, friends are important.”
My childhood years were lived in a rural setting, without close neighbors or other nearby children. For all intents and purposes, I was an only child for more than eight years, until the first of my three siblings were born. It was as if we were two families in one, for I was too old to connect with them as playmates or companions, nor was I encouraged to do so. My mother was happy for me to entertain myself, and I did.
She played games with me sometimes, however, I spent most of my time alone. I read books avidly, sometimes going through one a day. My father would bring me a stack from the library each week, and my parents also had a good selection of the classics like the Count of Monte Cristo and Treasure Island. My favorite book was The Swiss Family Robinson, which I read over and over, imagining myself as part of their adventures as they lived ingeniously on a deserted island after a shipwreck.
Besides reading books, I played imaginary games and fixed up my doll house, creating furniture out of match boxes and other small items. Sometime around age nine, when I was in the third grade, I acquired a friend, and she and I often played together on weekends. She wasn’t around in the summer because she went to camp, while I was left alone again to wander the fields and climb trees. She was my first real friend.
Over time, I had others although they were often few and far between. Even the first half of my life as an adult followed the same pattern: One or two special friends that came and went as time and circumstance unfolded. One very dear woman was also a mother. We often combined our children and went to the beach or a movie together. It was a special time in my life. Then my life changed radically and I began to meet and interact with a great many people, and in the process, I began to make many friends.
After a first half of life with so few friends, it seems a wonderful thing to have an abundance. Some are and some are not still present in my life, and there are friends I have not laid eyes on for years. Yet that makes no difference; my affection for them has not diminished with time. I still wonder how they are long after they are no longer in contact with me. The lesson I have had to learn and surely have had many opportunities to do so, is that people do grow away into different interests, or even lifestyles. Yet although we have parted, and even if we are no longer close, these friends are still in my heart.
There is much truth in the saying, “People come into your life for a reason, for a season, or for a lifetime.” I have learned to find joy in all my friendships, whether long or short.
May your friendships be a source of joy in your life.
Blessings and best regards, Tasha Halpert
PS I welcome correspondence and encourage you to share your thoughts, feelings and suggestions. Do write to me at tashahal@gmail.com and make my day.
A poet and writer, I publish a free weekly blog, Heartwings Love Notes for a Joyous Life. My Books: Up to my Neck in Lemons, and Heartwings, Love Notes for a Joyous Life are available on Amazon. My latest publication available there is my first chapbook, Poems and Prayers, and I have two more in preparation. You can sign up for my blog at http://tashasperspective. Com.
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