connections...

My mom and I had a lovely morning yesterday visiting with some old friends. Now, I've talked about friendship here before and how important it is to have deep connections with people, how having and hanging on to those connections enrich our lives, and warm the corners of our hearts in a special way...
I believe that "soul mate" doesn't just apply to the love of our lives, to that one special person we find to spend the rest of our lives with, our partners in life... I believe that we can also find soul mates in our friends as well, people who are very dear to us, people who find that path to our soul, and make it to the depth of our hearts and that bond can never be broken.

I grew up with Hilma, we were neighbors back home, our families shared many happy and sad days together, made it through tough times and endured hardship through togetherness and laughter. And when you've been through so much together, be it good times or bad...that bond is so deep that it becomes a part of your life, your very essence and ultimately a part of your soul. Through that very connection your character is molded into who you become later in life. After we moved to the United States we stayed in touch, but the separation was still there, and even though they moved here a few years later we were still separated, not by distance but by the different paths our lives took us. However, when you do have that special bond, no matter how many years or miles you've missed... you are still very much a part of each others lives. You think of one another often, you remember all the experiences you've had together, and when you once again are face to face.... it's as though you didn't miss a thing.

These are the kind of friendships that stand the test of time, of distance and remain strong forever. These are the kind of friends that you can still call on when you need something...anything, and you feel safe in knowing that they will always be there for you no matter what, as you would be there for them. I feel very fortunate to have made such connections in life and cherish each memory, every walk down memory lane warms my heart.
These connections are very important and essential in being human, it's what makes us who we are and ultimately how we choose to live our lives.

So cherish those deep connections, feed them, nurture them and hang on to them...for a life without them is a sad and lonely existence...

I love you Hilma and appreciate all that I've had with you and your beautiful family.

Love...Peace...Joy...

sweet snail mail....

Hey everybody, look what I got in
the mail from Janet.
This is one of her tags from her
Tuesday Tag Challenge posts, I commented about
how I really liked this one... and voila!!!

Thank you Janet, I really love it,
love the colors, the message, and most
of all the fact that it's hand made by you.
It's very happy in it's new home, hanging
from my lamp on my nightstand,
where I can see it daily and think of all
the great memories Gag left us with.
Thanks again... it really made my day.


Isn't Janet great? If you guys haven't
already been there please check out
her corner.

LOVE...PEACE...JOY...

friendship....

I want to talk a little about friendship today...

I'm not talking about the type of friendship that's kind of casual, a drink here and there, a lunch date on a busy work week, or an occasional phone call once in a while. What I'm talking about is the kind of friendship that withstands the test of time, the up and down hills that life takes us through, the connection that is thicker than blood. Not many people are fortunate enough in their lives to make and keep such connections.

Although I'm a strong believer that a lot has to do with the kind of friend you are to others that determines the friends that you make throughout your lifetime. We all go through different stages of life and during these different stages we come across many people that win our hearts, then sometimes we drift away and loose that connection for whatever reason or we hold on to those friends forever if we're lucky.

The friendship that I speak of here is much like the unconditional love of a parent for the child, yes I know that connection is stronger than anything we will ever encounter in our lives, but with a good friendship, an unselfish friendship one that has no boundaries one can come pretty close to a connection that is similar to a family bond. Friends like these will accept you for all that you are, will cherish what you have to offer, will know when to push you, or when to step back. They will understand that if you need time then that is what they give you, or if you need a shoulder then they are the first to arrive... (preferably with some comfort food and vino). They don't judge or criticize you when you are not yourself, instead accept and understand your position, they don't shower you with advise when all you need is a hug, they don't talk when you need them only to listen. And they certainly don't walk away and leave you crouched in a dark corner when you need a lift.

Yes friendship like this is hard to find and hang on to, for those who find it should do all necessary to feed that connection, not to let it drift away. A note of caution here... it is very important that this devotion be a mutual one, if only one is the giving and supportive partner all the time... then that's not a real friendship. And at times we will have to accept that not all people are capable of such a devotion to that connection and those are usually the people that can't make any other connections in their lives last for that matter.

So, yes as the saying goes "we may not choose our family, but we choose our friends" is true, and we should choose.... the people that can take that step and commit to that connection... because a train cannot travel on one track... it needs both tracks on a leveled surface to ride smoothly.

And that's my two cents worth on the topic...
Be well my cyber friends


love...peace...joy...

Thanks Girls!

Couple of my girlfriends kidnapped me for a quick hour lunch yesterday. I must say, at first I really didn't want to go (lately I don't do well being around people), and was searching for any excuse to get out of it but.... couldn't come up with any valid reason for not going. The husband was taken care of with all his meds, food etc, dinner was made already and a load of laundry was on the spin cycle spinning away. So, I kicked my ass out the door and joined them. I'm glad I did... it was a very short hour and a half lunch, they both had to get back to work, and I had to take mom-in-law to the doctor, so we didn't have too much time to hang out and enjoy the afternoon. But it was really nice, we sat outside, the weather was perfect, the company was great and the food was pretty good too, and hey it gave me a reason to shower and put lipstick on (just kidding about the shower, I shower daily;). We talked about this and that... discussed our husbands health problem (yes all three of us), and just forgot the worries for a little while.

Thanks girls! Aren't girlfriends great?
So, go kidnap a friend who needs to get away, today! She'll be glad you did.
Love and Peace!

"BFF" Power..

"BFF" (best friends forever), as the new generation refers to it... This generation that can text faster than they can talk, all the while "IM"-ing, and responding to comments on their "my space" and carrying on a conversation on the phone (like my niece), all in a matter of minutes... Boy I tell you, before we know it our babies are going to pop out with a laptop in one hand and a cell phone with MP3 capabilities in the other, oh and let's not forget a dictionary for all the newly invented "txt" jargon, because I don't know about all of you, but I don't understand half the things these kids are texting about... But, where was I.....

Oh yes, back to "bff"s.... For us girls having a close nit group of girlfriends is not only fun, but essential for survival in this life. Who doesn't enjoy a night out with the girls every now and then, with some margaritas and a great conversation, we can laugh, recharge and for once not worry about being a wife or a mother and just be us "girls". Or how about a couple of days away, doing a little bit of lounging around in our PJ's in the hotel room and watching "chick flicks", eating all the chocolate we want, without worrying about how we look that day. Ahh good memories....

We all love each of our girlfriends for different reasons, one may be our fashion guru, or the other knows all the hot spots in town, and yet another is our drinking buddy.... But there is always that one we seem to connect with on a deeper level than all the others. Maybe we have more of the same interests, or have a longer history with, but when we make that connection it is one of the most fulfilling relationships in our lives, we must hang on to it and cherish it for as many years as possible and even beyond that...

I am one of the fortunate ones to have that connection with my "bff", we have been together for twenty seven years, yup that's right, met in 1982 in high school and still going strong. We have so much history together and have been through many highs and lows of life, I can not imagine life with out her (ok girls don't get jealous). What I cherish most about our friendship is the fact that no matter what situation we are both in, or what time of day it is, or where we are... we can always reach each other, and know this person will have the time to give us and not judge, or criticize us, but just be that shoulder we need right then, or that guiding light to help us out of a tough moment. It truly is a blessing to have that in our lives.

So, girls... nurture that relationship you have with your best friend and don't let go of it, it's hard finding such a gift in life.

LOVE AND PEACE!