Practicing Gratitude 10 of 31 | 101 in 1001

Hi, it’s day 10 of practicing gratitude. I am grateful for friends. What is a friend? Doing a Google search, Merriam Webster provided several definitions and the one I am referring to is:
a
: one attached to another by affection or esteem
She’s my best friend.
b
: ACQUAINTANCE

With this, I have work friends.

Angie is my best friend from work. We are remote, so she is the only one that I have met in person. We call each other practically each day after work. Many times she has helped through a stressful day. We work for child care and the calls can be sad and sometimes abusive. Not every day. There are some really nice callers, but there are days. Over time we have evolved into more than just work friends. We have learned so much about each other as a person and our conversations are more than ‘work’ stuff.

Linda is my best friend from a past work/client relationship. We had our restaurant and Linda would come in every Saturday for a meal with her family of four, husband and two sons. We sold our business and time passed. One day while shopping in Wal-Mart, Linda came up to me and said hi. This was our reunion. We have traveled together and take virtual walks most every day, sometimes twice daily. Linda is available to walk twice daily, me however, I am not a morning person. Several times I did not make it on time to walk. And Linda still calls me her friend 🙂

I have my Weight Watcher friends. These are my newest friends. I just love meeting new people and becoming friends. They are just one of the many reasons I look forward to Saturday!

Not to mention, I have friends from very long ago. These friends I may not speak to them every day, but when we get together it’s comfortable. We pick up right from where we were and go forth. I treasure this so much. They knew me when……. And still care!

Family are my friends.

My adult children are my friends, as well. I say this cautiously. Note I said adult children. When they were minors, I was their parent. A parent must maintain the authority, and being a friend can undermine your role as a parent.

I remember hearing my dad telling my mom, “She’s an adult now. You need to consider her as a friend and not as a child.” I thought that was a wow back then, but now I understand- WOW! I had to recognize that both of my children are grownups, now I can enjoy a true friendship with them. I will always have my motherly love for them, that will never change 🙂

When I was a little girl in Brownies (before Girl Scouts), I remember singing a song:
Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver and the other’s gold.
We would sing this in a round, like Row, Row Your Boat.

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

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October in review: