Friday, February 27, 2009

Old Sweatshirts are like old friends.......

I have a couple of “most favorite” sweatshirts that really would qualify for the rag bag. I think one of them is 23 years old, vintage sophomore year at Texas A&M. My other is younger…..only about 20 years old, circa pharmacy school at UT. They are still warm, still comfortable, full of many year’s use….a few holes, definitely worn in places…..and still gracing my wardrobe regularly, despite the fact that I have a shelf full of newer sweats.

Being somewhat of an introvert, I think I’ve always been better at having quality versus quantity friendships. Now that I am in my 40’s, and can speak in decades, I find sweet comfort in my less than a handful of close old friends. Richard, who was my surrogate brother, 3+ decades. Michele, my very best friend growing up, who moved away when we were 12 and 13, yet we still stay in touch….3+ decades. Dana, my college roommate, 2+ decades. I talk to each of them at least a couple of times a year, and we always pick up like time has never passed by. I am fortunate to see Dana (who lives in Dallas) and Richard (who now lives in Mckinney) occasionally. It is a rich thing to have a friend in your life whom has intimate knowledge of you as a kid, teenager, and young adult….those troublesome formative years. We have knowledge of each other that no one else has (not even family), and we love each other in spite of that, or perhaps because of it. We know each other’s scars (physically and emotionally), and our early triumphs. For it is all of these things that has made us who we have become. I talk to them and I know this. I may only have less than a handful of old friends, but I am so richly blessed. Because, despite their knowledge of “all” of me, they love me back. No money can buy, no time can repeat this type of “ground up” friendship.

As I’ve gotten older, I have acquired a larger group of dear friends…. especially in the last 10 years, and I hope when I am in my 60’s they are still in my life…..just like my favorite old sweatshirts

1 comment:

  1. Hi I'm just an overalls fan, bibprofessor.wordpress.com, and saw your comment about overalls on another blog, and then I just ran over your post about your old sweatshirts and when you are getting 60, you hope still to have friends, well, I'm 60 and I still have my friends and my old jeans jacket from '63 and the best thing for me is very old t-shirts ! and overalls for sure !, please forgive an old guy :) to make a comment about being old (even if I can tell you that you dont feel old when you are 60!)

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