“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
I
watch with admiration and a little envy as my daughter confidently
walks up to another child at the playground and says, “Hi! Want to play
with me?” And, just like that, they are friends. No awkwardness, no
judging, just friends.
This
is a trait that she did not inherit from me. I find the whole making
and building process of friendships to be daunting. Nothing sends me into
an anxiety fueled spiral more than having to introduce myself to someone
new. My confidence runs one way while my social skills dart the other. I
am left in the middle, staring at this new person with the social grace
of a drunken lepar. This is not the best foundation in which to start a
friendship.
I
have started to build a few new friendships in the past year only to
have the foundation crack and crumble. The common ground that initially
brought us together became our demise. It happens quickly and often
without warning. Sometimes, you work really hard to build something
beautiful. You become inspired and work day and night. You put a lot of
yourself into it. Once it is completed and done you step back only to
realize the inspiration that drove you to create this beautiful thing is
gone. All you can do is be grateful for the process, for the
experience, and walk away. Walk away and try again.
Other
friendships build so gradually that you can not pinpoint the moment you
became friends. I have one such friend. Our foundation is strong with
many similarities. Our lives have overlapped for years. Slowly, from a
friend-of-a-friend to acquaintance to a full fledged friendship. The
base was worked on, unknowingly for well over a decade. Each interaction
making the structure stronger. And now, just recently, a shared
project. A shared passion. All of this created a comfortable
relationship.
A
good friendship is worth it. Like a building with a strong foundation,
it will stand the test of time. Sometimes all it takes is the courage to
walk up to someone and say, “Will you play with me?”
Your talent for writing these literary traces is amazing. Your words just flow along and have so much meaning. I am so proud of you and your talent. Love Mom
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