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.