What a thought provoking question! As we get older, we have time to reflect on the relationships that integrated our personality to its present day functionality, or lack there of. I have had two close friends for more than 50 years. One influenced my youth and one has changed my adult professional and personal life.
As a very young person, experiencing the forbidden fruits of adulthood seemed to be the goal of my best friend at the time. I was tempted and joined in the pursuit of these pleasures. Her parents traveled extensively and left her to the supervision of older siblings, which amounted to none. We walked to the neighborhood convenience store and bought cigarettes for 22 cents a pack. We went to the new houses under construction and smoked. We would drink her parents’ whiskey in the club basement and replace it with tea. We replaced the vodka with water. She got pregnant at 16 and that was the end of our clandestine fun. She was sent to New York City and that was the end of our close times. I became her daughter’s Godmother. Her daughter died of a heart defect. Our lives overlapped for a few years and over the years we have seen each other irregularly and had a hit and miss relationship. I ping-ponged between the East and West coast but we continued our relationship.
My adult life was influenced through a professional and personal relationship with one lovely woman. She hired me many years ago and we worked together while at a distance frequently. Slowly we developed an enduring friendship, seeing each other through many rough spots, the passing of our parents, marriages, and raising our children to adulthood, marriages, and grandchildren. Shared experiences have cemented a fledgling friendship to a deep and influential caring relationship.
Retirement, Travel, Health, Aging Well
