Fantastic Friends

This past weekend, my four dear friends from Michigan and Indiana came out here for a girls getaway weekend.  We go way back with each other - some of us became friends in grade school.  We have never waivered in our friendship.  We have never fallen away from our friendship.  We have just always been friends.

There is an old saying I learned in Brownies.  "Make new friends but keep the old.  One is silver and the other is gold."  All of us have made new friends over the years.  Some of us moved to new cities for college or a career and some of my friends stayed in Michigan after college.  We have friends from our children's school, from our neighborhood, from work and from church.  They are the friends we see each day, week or month.  And they are wonderful friends. 

But there is something so cherished as being in the presence of friends you have had your whole life.  Friends who I don't have to explain anything to.  Friends who have been with me through the speed bumps I have encountered in my life. Friends who have celebrated my happiness and success and friends who have held me when I was sad.  Friends who I have had crazy, fun times with and friends who I have sat with for hours just talking.

So many people are amazed when I tell them I have friends from grade school.  They find it hard to believe that I would still have something in common with people I met over 30 years ago.  It is amazing when I think about it.

I may only see these dear friends a few times a year during my visits back to Michigan and when they visit me here.  Some of them I may not see at all during the year, but we keep up through email and phone calls.  But it never matters how much time passes between each visit.  We always pick up where we left off and we never miss a beat.  We are forever friends who will forever be there for one another.  And there is not a better feeling in the world.