Episode #5 – friendaversary

Best friends enrich your life and are the people you trust above all others to keep your brightest and darkest secrets. They are the people you call with good news and the ones who can soothe your soul during times of great sadness. A best friend can be summed up best like this:

My fifth suggestion on living well is always stay close to your best friends so that your life will be enriched and filled with love that only a best friend can give you.

Visiting friends is a must in my life!  I have three groups of friends that I must visit ever so often because of the joy they bring to my life. They are my high school friends, my college friends, and friends who used to live in my city who have moved away.

I am lucky that my high school friends get together often each year to celebrate whatever they can dream up to celebrate so we can all get together and share stories of family and crazy things we did in our youth. These times keep me grounded in the reality of my life and who I will always be “myself, Katy” at ten, than twenty, turning thirty, than forty, God forbid fifty, oh my God sixty, how did I get to be seventy, can you believe I’m eighty!  If I can remain true to myself than life would have served me well.

Some of my high school friends at the Christmas luncheon in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  Shirl’s mother Doris is in her nineties and keeps us all on our toes.

My second set of best friends are my college roommates from my years at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.  Those were the years of discovery and adventure.  Those were the years of awakening as to who I could be, what I would like to achieve, and what kind of legacy I would like to leave behind for hopefully others to build on or consider worthy.

Starr, me, Sylvia, Sally at Starr’s home in Atlanta sooo many years ago.

Starr, me, Sylvia and Sally  with “Brandi” about nine years ago at Sylvia’s home in Dallas.

Starr, Sylvia, Sally and myself get together once a year now usually at our various homes in Dallas, Fort Walton Beach, Atlanta, and New Orleans.  I am leaving tomorrow for Dallas so my next Blog will share all the fun we had. Don’t forget to tune in next weekend to hear all about it.

My third group of friends who get together to celebrate and contemplate life are Patti and Andy and myself.  We don’t get to see each other very often but when we do we bring the house down with laughter, wine, and good times.

Andy, myself, and Patti years earlier.

I like to think the benefit of friendship is immeasurable.  That every great friendship improves your self-confidence because you know there is some one who truly gets you and loves you for who you are.  I also think every great friendship is the only thing that can encourage you to change or help you avoid an unhealthy habit or lifestyle because you trust that friends judgment and are willing to listen to his/her advice.

The last group of friends live in my hometown and one about one hour away.  Joann and Coco have been my friends for about five or six years.

It really doesn’t matter how long you have been friends with someone it has to do with connection.  Both these ladies became instant friends and that friendship grew stronger with each year.  They are the people I keep in touch with all the time.  Sharing our lives with each other is an important part of my days.  Everyone needs friends like these two ladies; friends who pick up the telephone to say hello I’m thinking about you. Hearing their voice, speaking of their life experiences, and they also wondering about yours. Just to hear their voice,  having them telephone, or having lunch together says you are special to me and makes my day special.

Joann and me!

 Coco and me!

 Why not share some of your special friendships with me which I can pass on to others.