When I look at the friendships I’ve had over the course of forty-plus years, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. Not because I’ve had an abundance of friendships, but because my friendships have made my life richer and challenged me to be who I am today. An old saying notes three kinds of friendships: Friends for a…
Have you ever hung up after a long call with a friend, only to realize you said little more than hello? Maybe you even heard them say, “It was good to catch up,” but they haven’t caught up with you at all. I’ve also done more than my share of the talking in a get-together,…
Earlier this year, I experienced a period of great loneliness, grief, and anxiety. In the wake of profound loss and an ongoing battle to juggle caregiving, childrearing, and mental illness, I found myself with a thousand acquaintances but what seemed like no close friends. At first, I focused on my own insecurities and tried to…
My long-time friend and I are having dinner. We’re two women of a certain age, efficiently and politely served by a woman at least a couple of decades younger. People in our decade are rarely in her position, it seems. On most of our mealtime outings, the wait staff are young enough to be our…
I sat at a table with two women. One of them mentioned how much my youngest daughter has grown over the past few months, how much she must have changed while my husband was away for his job. He was gone for four months. “Yes,” I mused. “Yes. She changed a lot. Those were some…
It was a perfect April day. We sat on a quaint restaurant patio. The weather was warm but not scorching hot, and a delicate, cool breeze moved the angel hairs around my face slightly. Days like these are few and far between in Texas. Just a couple more weeks and it would be too hot…