Happy Friendship Day!

  

Happy Friendship Day!  I had no idea there was such a thing, but apparently there is, and its today. So I am celebrating it today with you and saying thank you, my wonderful invisible friends.  You have been such a wonderful support for me over these past years.  Some of you since the beginning.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!  I wish only the best for each of you!

I have always been a person who has friends.  Unusually for an airforce brat, I have some friends who have been my friends since I was a young child, just beginning school, and they are still my friends today. We have been in contact with each other for all this time. 

 

This is us at the end of the Grade one school year getting awards for scholastic achievement from our teacher.  From left to right, my friend Susan, myself, I am afraid I don't remember her name, my friend Eileen. We have remained friends all these years and it has brought me joy to do so.  

Susan and I lived not too far from each other when we were very young, just down the road. We spent a lot of time playing together. I remember being devastated when her father got posted overseas at the end of Grade four.  They moved to Germany.  We kept in touch with letters for many years and she was able to come to my wedding when I got married to my first husband. It was so good to see her then.  We have seen each other off and on through the years and remain food friends to this day. 

My friend Eileen is who I named my oldest daughter after. She is the one who introduced me to French toast.  She had the best birthday parties. She came over to see me when I was working at the Manor in the UK. It was so much fun to see each other again. We have also been blessed to stay in touch for all these years.

All of my other childhood friends have passed away now. I guess that is what happens as you get older.  My life has been greatly enriched from knowing each of them however and they live on in my heart. 

I have moved around a lot in my life.  As the daughter of a military man and then the wife of a military man, I have made my home across Canada and back again in a variety of places.  I have been very fortunate to have made some very good friends everywhere that I lived. Friends who also remain good friends to this day and whom I am still in contact with.  I can think of at least two good, good women whom I remain friends with to this day, that I became friends with in almost every single place that I have lived.

Friends are those who remain with you through the good and the bad and who always love you no matter what. I have been blessed to have some very good friends in that way.   Friends for life. I have had other friends that I thought were friends for life as well, but who ended up only being friends for a season. That's okay too. There is great value in them as well.  Everyone who touches your life brings something to the table, and we are better for having known them. 

Whoever has a friend has a treasure. 

I was able to dig up some facts about friendships this morning. I am not sure how many of them are really true, or how many apply, but I thought they were interesting anyways. 

1. Men and Women can't be friends.  A study at the University of Wisconsin discovered that although men and women can try to be friends, it is impossible without some sort of sexual tension  and moments of seduction always enter the relationship.   I am not so sure how true that actually is.  I have had male friends through the years. Peter Lee for instance and there was nothing sexual in that at all.

2. Animals have friends too.  They can have friends within their species and outside of their species. It is thought that the reason behind this is that friendship has certain benefits. Better health, less stress, and better reproductive success.  Well, in the animal kingdom I guess.

3. Friends help us to be more empathetic. The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is a key human characteristic, but with friends we take it to the next level. People close to us become a part of us, and that is not just metaphor or poetry, it’s very real. 

4. In lifetime you will make at least 396 friendships, but out of those only one out of every 12 will last forever.  Apparently that is a proven scientific fact.

5. Not having any friends can be dangerous to your health.  That makes sense.  Everyone needs someone to share with. The good, the bad and everything in between. A sorrow shared is halved and a joy shared is doubled.

6.  It is the friendship aspect of the marriage relationship that helps it to last. Successful marriages are based a great deal on deep friendship. Mutual respect for each other's company plus a good knowledge of each other's quirks, likes and dislikes, is good for the marriage. Spouses who are friends try harder to make repair attempts during a spat.  

7. When faced with major health issues, people who have a healthy social network are in a much better position to survive. People over the age of 70 with an extensive friendship network, tend to live 22% longer than those without.   This makes sense too. Generally speaking, women live longer than men and women are more likely to have a larger ground of friends than men.

8. It is scientifically proven that the company of good friends reduces stress in life. 

Lets face it  . . .  we need each other.

 

Over my life time and throughout my ups and  my downs it is the friendships that I have fostered which have helped to get me through all of the rough and the smooth patches. I do not know where I would have been over these past months in recent years without the love and support of friends. 

 Friends are those who don't allow your failures or your sorrows to tear you down, but who step up to the plate and help to carry you when you are feeling weak or needing someone to help you shoulder the burdens and challenges you are facing.  Many of my friends have been invisible friends. Invisible or not, they have always been there for me, with a kind word, with prayers, with tangible aid, listening, advising, caring.  I count you all amongst them and am so appreciative of all the help you gave to me, and most especially for the prayers. I have felt your love.  It has meant everything to me. 

I have been so blessed in the years to have been able to meet some of my invisible friends in person. Over in the UK, several of them came to see me at my home, which was always a thrill. I am really excited that I will be able to meet another one at the end of August this year.  Ginny and her husband are coming to the Maritimes camping at that time, and we are hoping to meet up, even if it is only a front porch socially distanced meeting.  I am  really looking forward to that!

Would that I could meet you all!

When I look at my two cats, I can see that they are not only siblings, but also great friends to each other. I think that having a friend who is a sibling is one of life's greatest blessings.  I know you get tired of hearing this, but my best friend is my sister, my brother too in a different way (He is a man after all. They see and think about things from a much different perspective.)  A sibling shares a history with you that you share with nobody else. Although your life's experiences and observations might be different in some ways, they come from the same roots. I have always felt that the greatest gifts my parents ever gave me were my sister and my brother.    

These two people have been the greatest blessing of all in my life.  There is a bond there that is special and unique and that I share with nobody else on the planet. Not spouse. Not child.  Not parent.   I love my sister and brother very much and my life is made all the better for having them in it.  They have been the sense of reason for me many, many times in my life, and support always. They probably know me better than I know myself.  Warts and all . . .  and they love me anyways.

Happy Friendship Day everyone!!! I hope you are as blessed to have some good people in your life as I am!  Life truly is better with friends.

This little fella was guarding the hummingbird feeder last evening.  Chasing off any other hummer who dared to enter his air space, and he is back at it this morning.  I so enjoy these little creatures. Watching them truly brings a lot of joy into my life. When we were at my father's the other day his was covered with wasps and hornets.  Nasty things. I think they are worse this year, probably because it has been quite a dry year.  

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Good friends help you

find the important things you have lost.

Your smile, your hope, your courage.

•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Everyday Maple Bran Muffins, the small batch version. This recipe makes six delicious hearty moist buttermilk bran muffins, filled with lots of dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots and roasted sunflower seeds.

I hope you have a beautiful Friday.  Be happy. Be safe. Be loved. Be blessed.  Don't forget! 

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And I do too!