Friends

I have been thinking about friends lately. After Daddy died, I observed Mom and her friends. They were either married ladies or widows. They were all close in age to Mom.

I watched as she outlived each of her friends. It was then that I decided it would be wonderful and very wise to have friends of all ages.

People interest me. I like to get acquainted with many different people. I got acquainted with two ladies at the water department when I paid the bill. One lady became a friend and confidante. I believe she saw herself in me. I called her my Iowa Mom and spent many hours sitting on her sofa visiting with her. She enjoyed those visits and so did I.

I'm blessed with friends my age from my school days. It is fun to get together and talk about "old times."

Another lady and I taught school at Ft. Riley from 1955 through 1959. We often ate lunch together, played piano duets during lunch hour in her kindergarten room and sometimes went to movies. We have remained friends over all the years between then and now. She lives in Las Vegas; we have visited her there twice and she has been to our home.

Then there are those friends who were Patti and Tony's classmates. Some still call me "Mom Weber." They spent many hours in our home or else working with me in Band Boosters.

There is one more friend I'd like to mention. I've known him since high school. He had no sisters and I was very honored when he told me one day that if he had a sister, he'd want her to be just like me - and he calls me "Sis" to this day.

I am so blessed to have many friends. The younger ones help keep me young at heart and those my age keep me grounded. The ones older than I are a blessing still.

Friends come into our lives to fullfil specific reasons. Some walk beside us in the difficult times. They encourage us to hang in there and to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Some share joyful times with us. Some come into our lives and stay for a while and leave. Perhaps they move away and the connection is broken. Maybe I moved away, either emotionally or physically.

The blessing is that friends love us, pray for us, and offer wisdom that we may or may not heed. They don't get angry and give up on us because we disagree.

We have childhood friends, work friends, church friends. Some of these areas overlap. The best thing about friends is they accept us as we are and invite us to become better. They love us even when we stumble and fall. They give us a hand so we can stand up again.

Friends are blessings, indeed.