Monthly Musing – November 2022 – Best friends

“Cheers!”

I was clinking glasses with one of my best friends, sitting in her cosy kitchen for the first time in a few years and realising how much I had missed seeing her.  Even being able to give her a hug in person instead of sending virtual hugs down the phone was something I felt hugely grateful for, and the weekend that we spent together laughing and chatting went far too quickly.

I’m very lucky in that I have more than one best friend.  Brilliant women, all of them, very different to me and even to each other (their common link is me!) but they absolutely “get” me and I “get” them, and my life is so much the richer for having their friendship.  Unfortunately, they all live a long way away from me and so I don’t get to see physically see them as often as I would like to, but thankfully we all have phones and we can chat and text on a regular basis.

I’ve written before about how wonderful I think it is when I see friendships that have blossomed through social media and I guess that my own are similar now in that we can talk more online or through a phone line.  The old idea of virtual friendships being somehow less than face to face friendships is disappearing as having virtual friends is what has kept most of us sane for quite some time!

It’s nearly two years since that first Christmas when we were in lockdown and couldn’t see our families and friends, and I believe we are still living with the fallout, still remembering that there was a time “before” and a time “after”.  Without technology to keep us connected, I am sure that the effects of the fallout would be far more severe.  All of our friendships became virtual overnight and thank goodness.  It didn’t matter how close or how far away anybody lived as they were able to be right there in front of you on a screen.

My weekend with my friend showed me that how we keep in touch with those who mean the most to us is less important than the fact that we actually do.  Yes, it was wonderful to give her a hug, but what also means a great deal me is that we were able to pick up our conversation as if it were yesterday, and actually, although it was a text conversation, it was.  If time “after” has given us anything, it’s a reminder to use our technologies to stay in touch, to cultivate friendships old and new, and to make sure that those people who “get” us don’t get lost in the busyness of life.

“Cheers!”

Photos taken at Dinton Pastures, Wokingham. We didn’t sit in the kitchen all the time! 🙂