One thing I learned when I was just a child was to keep your friends close at heart even if life’s journey pulled you in different directions and apart. Though there would be many I called friends along the way, there would be some that I would have the privilege of calling my best friends and they would be the ones I would hold onto for a lifetime. These special friends would remain close at heart even when we were miles apart.
I was reminded of that special bond while I was waiting for the graduating seniors to walk the halls of Marshall Elementary and all the other hallways they had walked for the past 13 years. As I watched kindergarteners in their classroom get excited about their summer, some were heartbroken that they might not see their friends this summer and they might not have them in their classroom next year.
As I watched their teacher try to reassure them that they could always meet for breakfast or play together on the playground together even if they were in different classrooms next year, I watched some struggle with the thought of growing up. Then their teacher had them hug their best friends and the giggles and tears began to fall. Some seemed to be ok with the idea of letting go of their kindergarten year while others were fearful of what their future held. A couple of the boys began to bawl their little eyes out as they hugged their best friend’s neck so tightly and couldn’t even comprehend the thought of letting go of that friendship that they had worked so hard to acquire this year.
As I thought back to my kindergarten year and pictured many of the friends I had by my side for all the years up through high school, I too became teary-eyed. I realized how quickly that time flew by and how quickly that time flew by for my own children. It seemed as if I blinked and decades went by. Yet year after year I was grateful for the friendships I had grown to love and for the ones that earned my full trust.
Yes, I still considered them my dearest friends. Those friends are the ones that even when you spend years and miles apart, you can catch up with a long distance phone call or even better, with a quick girlfriend’s weekend get-away. These are the girlfriends you keep close because they will be the ones that give you motherly advice with your trying toddler and keep your kids overnight when you need a break. They will be the ones to cheer on your teenager when you have to miss the game and work late. They will also be the shoulders you cry on when your marriage is falling apart and they will tell you the truth about yourself even if it hurts to hear it. They will be there for your child’s graduation and they will cry happy tears with you at your grown child’s wedding. They will be the ones you call on when you lose your job, lose your mind and when you lose your father. They will be there with a casserole in one hand and Kleenex in the other. Yes, these special friendships are the ones that you will learn to cherish for a lifetime and they could easily be that sweet little kindergartener that is holding his friend’s neck so tightly this year.
I still remember eating those graham crackers and drinking chocolate milk with my best friends then in kindergarten and these are some of the very ones I still enjoy having a cup of coffee with today. So keep your friends close, whether in body, spirit or in your heart because these will be the friendships you might have for a lifetime if you’re lucky.
