Giving Thanks

A couple of days ago, a friend from college, a former roomie, came out and we went to lunch. It amazed me how quickly we were back in the 1960s, reliving so many moments of our shared history. We don't spend as much time together as we should, especially in the autumn of our lives, but when we are together, we remember why we are still friends.

I traveled up the hill last week to deliver some goodies to a social event another friend was hostessing. She didn't ask, she wouldn't, but I offered. We've traveled many roads together in the time we've shared, some of them filled with joy and laughter, but some of them a trail of tears. I'm happy for her because she's found new joy in a marriage that was a long time coming and richly deserved.

I stopped by another friend's home to see her new swim spa in place within the brick foundation that will become her pool room. She loves to swim and makes a point of driving to visit the only local public pool--an outdoor pool at a nearby high school, which is only open during the summer. Once her swim spa is operating, she'll be able to swim 24/7, if that's what she wants ... and I can't wait to see her in the water, stroking away the stress of the day.

I drove another friend, a newer friend, to her summer home in the mountains, hauling some furniture she was moving in the back of my truck. After we off-loaded that, we spent time together, relaxed time, over a cup of coffee and then some mindless meandering through the village before we headed back to the desert. It was quiet, it was peaceful, it was friendship.

Today, I shared Thanksgiving dinner with another friend, another journey of laughter and tears that has endured so many years. Once, we were young together, and now we're not so young. Our minds are as much friends as our souls, and it's always a special time when we are together. Sometimes, she just lets me come and sit on her seashore because she knows how much I need that to be part of my life. Other times, we run errands--and we often take in a movie and lunch. And she always prays for me, whether I ask her to or not. I usually ask her to--just in case.

Some friends have gone on before me, and I miss them most at the holidays. I lost 3 friends within a year, and it's taken me time to come to grips with that. I don't handle death well, but I really don't handle it well when someone I love dies.

I don't have a long list of friends, but the ones I have are embedded deeply in my soul.

Thank you, my friends.