Old Friends

Hello Readers,

It’s that festive time of year again when people start thinking nostalgically about the past and probably happier times. We often lose touch with certain people because of difficult circumstances, family feuds, misunderstandings, people moving away and even some admitting that they are not very good at keeping in touch, the list of reasons and excuses are endless. There are a lot of people who will only ever get in touch by sending a greeting card instead of picking the phone up and saying ‘hello’. They either cannot be bothered or they assume that once you have received their communication, that you will do all the running, saving them the hassle and facing up to the fact that they have sadly neglected the friendship. This behaviour is just plain lazy and displays a complete lack of regard and respect.

I remember when I was much younger there were no mobile phones, computers or ways of keeping in touch other than by letter writing and trotting off to the local telephone box and standing in a queue for ages in all weathers, waiting for your turn to make that all important telephone call. Now, in these cyberspace days, communication is so much easier because we have the social media to thank. So many people talk to each other regularly via Facebook, Twitter, e mail and text messages, to name just a few. People do not even have the excuse that they cannot afford a postage stamp to send a greeting card because good wishes can be sent immediately via the airwaves for free and it just takes a few minutes of anyone’s time and a bit of effort.

‘No one leaves an old friend unless they are ashamed’ (Julian Casablancas)

True friends will always stay by your side no matter what. It does not matter what is happening in your world, if they really care, they will always be there. One of the blessings of sharing time with old friends is that you can be as stupid as you like with them and all is forgiven. I have noticed that close friends talk in a sort of shorthand, a language that only they understand. Sometimes, there is no need to talk at all because just being in one another’s company is enough. The most you can do for your friend is to simply be their friend.

Finding an old friend is like finding an old treasure. Whoever neglects old friends for the sake of new and possibly more exciting, deserves what they get when they end up losing both. You can make a new friend, but you can’t make an old one. The saddest part about burning a bridge is realising that you can never get back to the beautiful place it used to take you, and nothing hurts as much as missing someone that doesn’t miss you.

It’s astonishing the things you realise when you lose someone or lose a good friendship. You get mad at yourself for not saying or doing the things you could have done when you had the chance to. Anyone can be taken at any time in our lives because stuff happens, but we always wait until they have gone, until it’s too late to say and do the things we never had the courage to do before.

But sometimes when certain people reappear back in our lives after a lengthy absence, we can suddenly realise how much we have changed and moved forwards, so much so, that we have nothing left in common but our memories.

Until Next Week,

Linda and The Lulas xxx