LOVE WEEK : FRIENDSHIP

[Cleoriff]

                                            FRIENDSHIP

Today's topic is all about Friendship and what it means to you.

Few things have such a huge impact on happiness and the enjoyment, depth and plain fun of life as the friendships we have.

Do friends need to spend a lot of time together? Or are you comfortable with friends you see rarely but can just pick up a conversation as if you had never been apart?

Then (like this community) there are people you have never met but consider good friends.

Just a bit about myself. I am 'quite old' and have a large circle of friends. Some I speak to daily and see often, others I see rarely but know they would have my back if anything happened to me. They also know I would be there for them.

Through life, I have had many best friends. It happens with age.  Many of those have moved away, across the world  but we still keep in touch..

Currently one of my closest friends used to be my boss in nursing. (Yes just imagine!!)

At work we were totally professional and to make sure I was never favoured in the eyes of others, she worked me harder than anyone else. Now we are both retired and can share a friendship which is quite unique really.

I specifically asked @Marjo  to do this topic as it gave me an opportunity to mention @Glory1 .

She was community member who we sadly lost in August of last year.

We had never met. We were the same age and when she joined we just clicked. She became one of my closest friends.

How can that possibly happen when you haven't met someone in person?

Well it did. We had the same sense of humour and shared a liking of books and TV programmes. We could literally chat for hours, either via PM, email, messenger and the occasional phone call. We supported each other a lot through some very bad times and enjoyed black humour discussing our issues.

When she passed away, I felt I had lost a very close friend. This is probably the power of this community and I thank people for that and bringing Glory into our lives..

Add to that, I also thank the community for other friendships I have made and the support they have given me (you know who you are)

I found this lovely quote from a very unlikely source..

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”

– Muhammad Ali

So what does friendship mean to you?

Have you any amusing or poignant friendship memories you want to share?

Please feel free to join in in any way you feel comfortable with. Don't make me feel like a Billy No- Mates 

[Cairdeas]

Hi @Cleoriff  

First of all so sorry to hear about Glory..i didn't know. 😞 

Your story was lovely. I understand what friendship means to you. It can add such positivity to one's life.

Personally, I have had a difficult time with friendships.

Being a full time carer, my friends slowly disappeared over the years since I couldn't really go out.

I understood it, but it still hurt.

Now I have some help, i have discovered new friendships. 

I go out with my male friend and his husband, and we laugh til our sides hurt. I am grateful every day to have them in my life...and 2 girl friends that i see every fortnight  for a few glasses of wine lol. 

Also since I joined O2 and Facebook I have made some friends that I have never met but hold dear to my heart, especially your good self @Cleoriff . I feel like I could ask or tell you anything and that is a huge thing for me. I look forward to reading the posts of my friends from here. You know who you are  

So, to summarise, friendship is a blessing that everyone neeeds in their life ❤️ x

[Cleoriff]

Hi @Cairdeas 

Great to hear from you lovely lass....About time you posted more on this forum.

So pleased to hear life is getting better for you in terms of friendships. You deserve to be happy.

If you didn't live in damn Scotland I may have joined you and your friends for a glass of wine/vodka or three.

Just worried you would have to carry me home.

Thanks for posting xxx

[Mi-Amigo]

A very appropriate topic for Love Week @Cleoriff and I echo your comments - and tribute to Gloria, who is sadly missed and loved by many on the Community.

A little about me. I have few friends. I have a neighbour, who actually saved my life a few years ago, and my carers, who I regard as friends with their help, support, and friendship towards me. I don`t regret not having a huge circle of friends and going round for tea and gossip. The small number of friends I have all live some way away and never see, but stay in touch with by snail-mail and e-mail (I don`t do Facebook or Twitter).

It is the members of this Community, with their help, support, advice and support who I regard as friends. As many will have read many times, in the short time since I joined this Community, those members [they know who they are] have made me feel welcome when I have felt alone, made me smile when I`ve been down, have helped take away thought about my own day-to-day worries and issues, and given me food for thought with their posts and comments. All of which, to me, makes them friends.

I am very grateful for the few friends I have. To me, I would rather have the quality of a small number than a quantity of acquaintances.

Thank you.

[Cairdeas]

Thank you @Cleoriff ..who'll carry me home tho?  

You'll need your big coat if you ever come up here  x

[Cleoriff]

Lovely post @Mi-Amigo .

I agree for some people it is the quality of the friends you have as opposed to the quantity.

It's also great to see this Community is more than just a community of people for a lot of us.

Friendships are made and long may they last.

[Cleoriff]

---

@Cairdeas wrote:

Thank you @Cleoriff ..who'll carry me home tho?  

You'll need your big coat if you ever come up here  x

---

Those two blokes you made friends with @Cairdeas ?

PS I have more than one big coat....I'll bring them all 

[MI5]

I don't have "lots" of friends.
There are many acquaintances and colleagues etc but actual people that I call friends are few.
To me,, friends are people who know you, warts and all and don't judge. You can share anything with each other without fear of repercussion and reprisal and spend as much or as little time together as you wish. But safe in the knowledge that you will always be there for each other if needed.

[Cleoriff]

@MI5 

Also friends can fight, argue and disagree and still be friends. That's another meaning of true friendship I think?

[MI5]

If both are truly friends, yes.