by T. Jacira Paolino
Old Friends
When do you need an old friend? When life throws you a curve ball. When you stumble and fall. When things don’t go as planned. When someone close to you dies. When someone you trusted pulls the rug out from underneath you. When you didn’t see it coming.
An old friend is someone who knew you when. Someone who was there with you when you were growing up, who knows your family dynamic from experience, someone who you don’t have to explain things to. Years pass, you move away, marry, maybe divorce, but that friend still knows you inside out, upside down and backward because of the things you shared together. Perhaps you don’t speak very often. Months, even years go by, but when you reconnect, it’s like time stood still. Everything in-between can be caught up and put in its place, and you are back together like when you were in grade school.
That connection made when you were young cannot be broken or even interrupted. Old friends are rare. If you are lucky, you have one, rarely more. They are to be treasured, nurtured and appreciated from the bottom of your heart. When life gives you lemons, they can help you make lemonade. You can pour your heart out to them, tell them your deepest secret and they won’t judge you, or betray your confidence. You can let your guard down with them, without fear. They accept you with all your deficiencies and warts and they still love you and support you. They stand by you, no matter what.
I am honored and lucky enough to have an Old Friend.
I’m not going to name her, because she knows who she is and I hope she knows how much she means to me. I hope I can be as good a friend to her as she has been to me, through thick and thin. Without her, this road in life would be so much more difficult.
Thank you, my friend.
