Friends will be Friends

One simple fact is indisputable; I don’t see my friends often enough.

Granted one spends a large amount of the year in other countries and one lives in London, but the other two live and work nearby and there is no excuse other than the usual “time flies” nonsense… which isn’t as much an excuse as a weird rip in the time versus priority continuum.

What a great word continuum is… continuUM conTINuum contiuummmmmmm…

Every time we meet we promise to meet sooner next time, to not leave it so long, to call on the off chance of each other being free rather than worrying about pre-arranging a dinner, or if one person can make it whilst the other one can’t. Yet we never really do and there’s no excuse for it. We are all grown up (mostly) and responsible adults (barely), we can handle buying houses, holding down jobs (two of my mates run their own companies fer chrissakes) yet we can’t seem to get the whole ‘friend time’ nailed down properly.

Now I’m not saying that this is a problem, it’s more a slight annoyance, and I’m certainly not laying blame, – if I was I’d have to start with myself – but it is something that bothers me. Especially at this time of year as resolutions are made, the slate is clean, a new dawn breaks over the horizon, a calm pond awaits the pebble, a blank canvas dreams of colour, a [Ed: GET ON WITH IT!]

So I spotted my two Glasgow based friends on MSN, got in touch and made arrangements to contact them when we get back from Spain. Life is just too short to let these times pass, to neglect the people I care about, and I’m determined that this year will be different. It’s almost like that mature feeling that occasionally sweeps over me when I’m driving… it may sound odd but it’s almost the sudden realisation that I’m an adult, I am married, I can afford… well I can drive a car… it’s like seeing myself through a stranger’s eyes. Just another middle-aged married couple going to the garden centre, or to visit their family. Odd that. Anyone else get that? Just me? Right.. as you were.

Friends are important, they help remind you of who you are, where you came from, and keep you grounded. They can share old jokes and reminiscing that no-one else can, they know you better than you ever realise and when you need them they are there for you without question or hesitation.

You can’t choose your family, and sometimes you can’t choose your friends. Not really at any rate for the true friends are the ones that just develop, flourish and stick. Those are the ones to value.

And I do.