Lunch With A Dear Friend

Today I had lunch with Gloria (by myself without children). She's my oldest and dearest friend. We met in 7th grade in the cafeteria, if I remember right. I think we spent almost 4 hours at the restaurant. We ate at a Chinese Buffet in Mandarin and on the way out the hostess asked in a thick Chinese accent, "You not see each other for a very long time?" I guess the establishment was watching us, wondering when we were ever going to leave. We were probably very loud, laughing so much at times we started crying. Good friends are hard to come by and when you've weathered a life with old friends there's really no comparison. There is such awkwardness to making new friends as adults.

Like an old tapestry, the beauty of a long friendship cannot be seen close up, but by taking a step back and looking at the whole carpet. There are fine lines of thread that have held us through tough times. Perhaps areas that are worn from taking each other for granted at times. But the stories that are weaved through "the very fabric of our lives" (quoting the Cotton commercial) create a beautiful picture of the person I've become, or we've become throughout the years. Old tapestry, the kind found in museums, are priceless heirlooms. When I think of friendships like Gloria, I think this is what I want my daughters to have when they grow up.

My grandmother, Eleanor, had a friendship with a woman we knew as Mrs. Cepko. She and my grandmother had known each other most of their lives. They grew up and got married and lived blocks from each other. When we visited my grandmother we would all go visit Mrs. Cepko. As a military brat, I thought I would never have that kind of friendship with anyone as we moved in and out of people's lives so much. And yet, what a gift my father gave me when he decided to do a double duty at one post and gave me the opportunity to form a friendship that has lasted over 20 years.