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Friday, March 4, 2011

Wishful thinking...

One of the highlights of my recent holiday to Perth was catching up with two of my friends. The three of us have been friends since the beginning of high school and have kept in touch ever since. When we first left school we still spent a lot of time together then, gradually at first, we became involved with husbands and children limiting our own personal time. Eventually I moved interstate and we kept up communications over the phone and by email. This year marks the 37th year of our friendship. I find that both wonderful and amazing!

All three of us are single again, our children old enough to leave at home without worrying. On my last night in Perth we went out to dinner at a new seafood restaurant right on one of Perth’s most popular beaches. We sat on deckchairs overlooking the water, sipped champagne, ate a very tasty meal and watched both the eye candy on the beach and the sun setting into the water. Later we walked along the beach and, as we wanted some photos of ourselves, we stopped a strange young man who happily took several photos on all three of our cameras. We sat for awhile chatting and watching people play on the beach. It was a perfect evening.

I miss going out with my friends. I especially miss going out with my friends who are single and don’t have husbands / boyfriends to rush home to. There is something special about being both the same age and on the same page as your friends. Not only does conversation never run out but there is no outside pressure to answer to another.

I enjoy going out with my friends in Melbourne but all of them are either married or in relationships, some of them have young children and it’s not quite the same. Unfortunately my single friends all live either in geographically distant country areas or different states.

Perhaps if I were in a relationship I would feel differently. But I don’t feel any strong urges to find someone to have a relationship with. Although I miss the physical side of relationships, I feel as if I wouldn’t have enough spare time to give to someone else. Or perhaps I’m simply still too burnt after the sudden end of my last relationship seven years ago. Whatever the reason, I look forward to the fleeting moments of social life I have with my single friends.

My holiday in Perth and the time I spent with my friends there will always remind me of just how special friendships are. We shouldn’t need any reminders to treasure our friends. We should never be too busy to keep up with what they are doing or too stressed with our lives to listen to them. Friends are people who love you for who you are not what you do or what you look like or how much money you make and they aren’t easy to find. But once you find them, don’t ever underestimate their true value.

To all my friends – thank you for being who you are and always being there for me. I hope I will always be there for you too.

“Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends.” Unknown author.

13 comments:

  1. I had a wonderful night out with some of my oldest friends (some of who I hadn't seen in 2 years) last weekend. Apart from a broken ankle. It's wonderful how you can just reconnect with girls you haven't seen for ages. Good friends are priceless.

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  2. I am glad to hear that you had fun.
    It's always good to have a touch stone.

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  3. I have, what I call, my lifelong bff. 35 years in the making.
    We live opposite sides of the country, but through thick and thin we've always been there for each other.

    Our 50th is coming up in a couple of years, we have a pact and I know we'll carry it through.

    Friendships like this are a gift, I'm glad you have yours :-)

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  4. I love those friendships, too. I AM in a relationship, but I travel alone a fair bit, so I totally hear you about hanging out with the girls.

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  5. I have had a best friend for 43 years now!! I love her dearly but I really should talk to her more and we should do more things together. After all we only live about 15 minutes away from each other.

    I'm glad you have 2 best friends.

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  6. I just wanted to stop by with a comment hug! Its been rough without a computer-I can do some stuff on this phone but I haven't figured it all out yet-miss this! Hugs

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  7. You are so lucky to have such friends you can feel this closeness with.

    Yay on all of our girlfriends.

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  8. There's nobody like a good girlfriend, especially one who's single.
    xoRobyn

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  9. I have both single and married friends. I need them both at different times. But girlfriends in all sizes are the bomb.

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  10. I am sure you would have more fun and more connection right now from your single friends. You dinner ast the shore sounds amazing.

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  11. It is always good reconnecting. Maybe you should invite them to Melbourne and you can show them all the good bits of where you live.
    Airfares are a lot cheaper now and being single you probably have the room to put them up.
    If you need a hand with an itinerary i could make some suggestions.

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  12. That sounds like so much fun. I love hanging out with friends.

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  13. Alex - good to hear you enjoyed your night out. Hope your ankle is getting better!

    Domestic - I totally agree!

    Jamie - its always difficult when you live on the other side of the country from your friends, but not impossible!

    Hart - I'm sure you do know what I mean - especially travelling alone!

    gayle - funny you should say that - the two friends I met up with in Perth live quite close to each other but don't see much of each other at all!

    Seductress - so good to see you! Hope all is well. Hugs xo

    Deborah - I agree!

    Robyn - absolutely! Hope your move went well - am off to read about it.

    Mrs Tuna - its kind of nice that we need different friends at different times.

    Kazzy the dinner was awesome! I can recommend it if you ever go to Perth.

    Gaz - thank you! I have invited them to Melbourne and one day it might happen.

    Writer - it was fun!

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