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It takes a long time
to grow an old friend.
~ John Leonard
A special friend once
told me that when she thinks of her
friends, she thinks of a garden.
Some friends are
like annuals,
thrown together
in riotous color
because of school
or work or you
volunteer together or
your children are friends.
And when that
season is over,
the tie that bound
is slack;
the friendship slowly
fades and is gone.
And that's okay.
We need annuals;
they have their
own unique place
in the garden.
Because we have
perennials....Those
friendships that endure
the seasons and that
can be counted on
to be there,
year after
year.
As a child, my family moved
a lot and I left in my wake a
trail of annuals....friendships
that blossomed brightly and
then were gone. In my heart,
I am so thankful for each and
every one of them for befriending
the new girl....
Pam Keehan of Glens Falls, NY {2nd and 3rd grade}, thank you.
Dena Blevins of Walla Walla, WA {end of 3rd; 4th}, thank you.
Sheryl Miller of St. Helens, OR {5th grade}, thank you.
Lori Adams of Salem, OR {6th, 7th and start of 8th}, thank you.
I still remember them all, but despite
initial earnest letter writing, we
are no longer in touch.
Some friends you can see only a
few times a year or even a decade,
but you pick up right
where
you
left
off
like it was yesterday, when you were
first nestled in that garden, together.
I am so excited because
in a few short weeks
I will be reunited with
that very pal I first mentioned,
who thinks of friendship like a garden.
We haven't seen each other
in over five years!
How easily we might have been annuals,
but lucky me, our friendship grew
strong, sweet roots.
A Gymboree class in Indiana brought us
together, almost exactly 15 years ago.
She made her entrance to the first class
a bit late; she'd gotten a little lost, as she
wasn't from the area. Her nine-month
old daughter on her hip, she gracefully
joined our circle and I was immediately
drawn to her fresh style, warm smile
and yes, I must admit, her accent.
She's from New Zealand.
Her family was in Indianapolis while her
husband, an ophthalmologist, completed a
fellowship at the Indiana School for the Blind.
Despite growing up a world away
from each other, we found that we
were kindred spirits and could
easily talk for hours. We enjoyed
meeting with our baby girls to
chat about everything and anything.
Hopes, fears, dreams; we covered
a lot of ground while chasing after two
little tykes. And we laughed. A lot.
 |
| Indiana 1996 |
Our friendship had only blossomed
for a year when it was time for them
to return home. Tears were shed.
This was not like having a friend move
to New York or California or even
Hawaii. This was a move that
would separate us by half of
the earth!
But we were perennials.
 |
| California 2000 |
Mainly we have communicated via
letters and the Internet, as
coordinating a phone call can be both
costly and tricky. When it is 9AM here
on Monday, it is already 3AM Tuesday
morning, there. Helga has the most beautiful
handwriting and when I open the mailbox
and see her unique script on a card or parcel,
it always lifts my spirits as I anticipate brewing
a cup of tea and savoring every word.
 |
| New Zealand 2002 |
Since Helga and her family returned
to New Zealand in 1996, I have seen
her three times. Our upcoming
visit will be the shortest ~ just one
lovely day together ~ but it may just
be the most precious. Like old
times, we'll talk and talk, but now as
perennials that have braved many
more seasons in our own gardens.
Some of those seasons have brought
a lot of stormy weather as we have both
faced life's inevitable ups and downs.
But our friendship has endured.
We have endured.
Perennials.
 |
| Minnesota 2005 |
Do you have a special perennial
in your garden of friendship?
I'll pour the coffee.
Let's visit that garden.
Let's visit that garden.
xx
Suzanne
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