Youth and friendship :: a state of mind

Karen and me

I've been blessed with some wonderful friends in my lifetime. There are one or two I've gained in recent years, and then there are the friends of a lifetime.

I'm sure that the same is true for you.

In my case, the (true/forever) friends I can count as mine for all time, no matter what, are few in number, but still more numerous than I deserve.

These are the ones who, because of shared history and values, are friends for the same reasons and in the same way throughout the years decades, no matter how often -- or how seldom -- you see them.

Such is my friend Karen.

It was an unexpected treat seeing her again recently after (at least) forty years.

Our reunion took place at a meeting during the Southwide Independent Baptist Fellowship, a conference held in Columbia. 

TG and I, plus Andrew and Brittany, Chad and Erica, Audrey and Dagny, and even our son-in-law Joel (he was actually a delegate at the conference), were there because a longtime friend of our family was one of the speakers.

As I was in the midst of greeting some acquaintances and family members before the service began, I looked up and there was Karen, smiling at me like it was 1975, even though we're both grandmothers.

It wasn't a total surprise; her husband, Steve, had been at our church the previous Sunday, and had told me that Karen would be in town for the special meeting later in the week.

Although Karen is from Alabama (I'm sure I once knew, but I cannot remember where Steve is from), they now live in a midwestern state.

Karen, Steve, and I went to college together, all members of the Class of '78.

(Unlike me, they received their diplomas on graduation night, haahaha.)

As Karen and I reminisced, I was reminded of the fact that for all of the reasons I admired and looked up to her in the past, I still admire and look up to her. My friend is as genuine and unassuming as she ever was.

In fact, both Karen and Steve are exactly as they were when we were all in our late teens and early twenties.

They're just a little older. And so are the rest of us. 

Anyway. Picking up the thread with Karen was special. As we talked about age being only a number (as older folks are prone to do), my friend told me about a poem called Youth, by Samuel Ullman.

She told me that this poem was especially beloved of General Douglas MacArthur, who often quoted it -- sometimes in its entirety.

It's possible that you're already familiar with all or parts of this poem. But if not, you may read it here.

Thanks for that, Karen. And thank you for your friendship.

To quote the cute pirate: You're a diamond, mate.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday

Comments

[Barb]

Good friends are a treasure. It's always a blessing to reconnect with them. I love this line of the poem, "to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." I hope it's cooler now at your house. It's very cold and snowy here in the mountains of CO.

[Mari]

Friends like that are hard to find. It's a wonderful thing to be able to pick up where you left off.
I'm so glad you got to spend some time together!
PS - I feel that sort of friendship with you. We rarely talk, but I know and share your heart and I know that if I picked up the phone to call you we would be right on track! (plus, there is never a shortage of word when Jenny Weber is around). Love you!

[Jennifer]

@Barb ... Yes it is! And isn't that poem great? Not cooler yet ... hahaha xoxo

@Mari ... Oh yes, you are a friend of a lifetime. Absolutely I would count you in that number, even if you didn't count me. I wish you WOULD call me sometime! You know me: always ready to talk. Hahahaha xoxo

[Terra]

How beautiful to connect with your friend after so many years, Our friends are treasures, both new and old. Now I will follow the link to read the poem.

[Jennifer]

@Terra ... Yes they are. Thanks for stopping by! xoxo