What is a friend, how can you define the concept? How many real friends can anyone have - is there a limit? (To some extent the word "friend" has become debased by Facebook). Is there a time limit on real friendship? Does what we need from a friend change over time & life experience?
Pondering this I realise that I haven't retained contact with anyone from my primary school years in Birmingham. I have changed & moved on mentally & geographically. It would be nice to meet up again & reminisce about what seems, in retrospect, to have been a much simpler time. I renewed a friendship from my Grammar school after I retired & also went to a reunion last year. Although some friendships when I was at college seemed important at the time, I have lost contact with everyone.
Most of my real friendships stem from my working life. Pleasingly it didn't seem to matter that I was a Head Teacher, which can distance you from people you work with. Sadly some of those friends are now dead, three of whom I loved & still miss. Some friends are more recent, but not valued any the less. All these friends have seen me through the highs & lows, and I have, I hope, done the same for them.
Some friends I have lost contact with in difficult circumstances, which I now wish could be repaired. Sh.. happens, our lives are complicated, we all do and say things we regret. Some friendships which are lost to me will probably never be repaired, which is a shame because I do believe in dialogue & trying to see the other persons point of view.
I'm old enough & wise enough now to know that real friends need to be treasured. They are irreplaceable. I'm blessed because I have friends that I could talk to about anything & they could do the same I hope. Friends who make the effort to keep in regular contact because they really empathise with my situation, even if they haven't had the experience of "flying solo". Friends who seem to be capable of limitless thoughtful support & wonderful humour too. They are particularly valued because I haven't got any family to speak of other than my lovely daughter.
Everyone needs human interaction. It can be at many different levels. We are social animals. You can't live your life fully in a vacuum. So I thank all my friends over the years, whenever their lives intersected with mine.
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