Just two friends having a heart-to-heart

Six-Word Saturday 4.8.23

Orchid

It’s been a bit dreary here in northeastern Illinois and it might be that way where you are as well.  A bit of flowery beauty doesn’t come amiss at this time of year in the northern hemisphere and I hope my friends in the southern one will enjoy it as well.

“An orchid in a deep forest sends out its fragrance even if no one is around to appreciate it.”
~Confucius

“Scatter as a prayer
escaping my lips…

as orchids
blooming in clouds.”
~Sanober Khan, A Thousand Flamingos

“When two friends understand each other totally, the words are soft and strong like an orchid’s perfume.”
~Sara Jeannette Duncan

Friday Fictioneers….Memories may be beautiful and yet…

Time for another hundred words, despite being a bit distracted today by the news that my mom’s in the hospital for a few days with a UTI and blood infection.  Thankfully, the former caused her to go for testing, which discovered the latter, making it much easier to treat.  An IV antibiotic should kick them both out on their not-so-merry ways.  Fortunately, the story more or less wrote itself in my mind while on the way home from work the other day.

Thanks to David Stewart of The Greenwalled Tower for the photo prompt and to Rochelle for hostessing the menagerie of writers each week.

Memories may be beautiful and yet…*

“Wow! The houses look so small. I remember them as big.”

“The tree we used to climb is gone. Wonder if the creek’s still there?”

“Oh, man, looks like Love Canal or something. There’s that spiky gate Jimmy almost impaled himself on.”

“Remember when…” and we were off and story-telling. Joe’s hands shaped paper boats like the ones we used to float in the creek. Jimmy, Joe, and Jenny. Inseparable. Until they left.

I launched every boat, one for each year. “Ooh Rah, Jimmy,” we both said softly. Joe saluted, then turned the wheelchair around and headed for the car.

 

*Thanks to Alan and Marilyn Bergman for the line from their song, “The Way We Were.”

Friends

A friend

“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.”                                                                                                                                                       ~William Arthur Ward

Friendship

Friends.  You are infinitely precious to me.  Here are some wonderful quotes that had just the right fit for how I would describe friends and friendship.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…”
~C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

A friend is someone who knows you and loves you just the same.
~Elbert Hubbard

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
~Mark Twain

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
~Friedrich Nietzsche

“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.”
~Linda Grayson

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.”
~Alfred Tennyson

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
~Jane Austen, “Northanger Abbey”

“It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.”
~Marlene Dietrich

“I think if I’ve learned anything about friendship, it’s to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don’t walk away, don’t be distracted, don’t be too busy or tired, don’t take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.”
~Jon Katz

“What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”
~Aristotle

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
~C.S. Lewis, “The Four Loves”

“We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we, Pooh?’ asked Piglet.
Even longer,’ Pooh answered.”
~A.A. Milne, “Winnie-the-Pooh”

So, to my friends!  Cheers!

The sweetness of gifts

After we sold our house and moved in at the beginning of September, someone on Facebook mentioned that she would bringing over a pie if she were nearby. I joshed that no one had brought anything over, an all-too-usual scenario in this day and age. I did receive a few virtual pies, the main advantage of which was their lack of calories!

But two days ago, I received a surprise gift. The fact that I was getting something wasn’t a surprise, as I’d been told something was coming via the overnight mail, but what the gift would be was unknown, although I did know it was something to eat. I was told that once the box arrived, I would need some information about the contents. More intrigue!!

Friday Fictioneers–Enough

Claire–lovely picture, excellent work.  Rochelle–the usual.  Friday Fictioneers–a joy and a privilege.   Read more–click on the cutie at the end.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it– enjoy!  It’s not impossible.

Just FYI, Thursday is a traveling day for me, so if you stop by and read and I don’t return the favor right away, don’t worry.  I will.  I read every story (unless it’s posted on Sunday or Monday and I’ve stopped checking), so I will look forward to reading yours with great anticipation.  And thanks for taking the time to read and comment on mine.  It’s always greatly appreciated.

Enough

It was the book’s fault really—accidentally dropped by her, fortuitously retrieved by him—sparking talk, the discovery of shared tastes.  Days later, a chance encounter at the coffee shop spawned laughter, the joy of shared thoughts, a frisson of attraction, the ease of friendship.

The coffee shop became their haven, a much-anticipated break from the everyday, always as if two halves were joined, the missing puzzle piece slotted into place.

Each time, replete, they went their separate ways, home to loved and loving families, anticipating the next completion. It could never be more, but it would never be less.

A Christmas gift

This true story is for my best (female) friend.  You know who you are.  Merry Christmas!

Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.
― Victor Hugo

They were introduced after church…our new music directors, a young couple with impressive credentials: one with an excellent voice, one with impeccable piano/organ skills, both with different but complimentary people skills and a desire to build a wonderful music program.  They announced, as is always announced, that anyone who liked to sing or ring bells was welcomed to come to practice for choir, bell choir or praise team.  I thought I might try praise team.

Tea and friendship

Getting together with a friend is about the best way to start a day that comes to mind! Especially over a cup of tea (or coffee for her) and some unrushed sharing time. I was blessed to start my Friday that way, with a friend who I don’t see nearly as often as I’d like, but when we do get together, it’s as if we’ve never been apart.

Our friendship started when both our families attended the same church, although it was more like a mentoring relationship in those days. She was younger, wanting to accomplish things, to take on the world, sure that her way was right while still being a loving person, a cheerleader as opposed to my athlete. I was home schooling our girls. We were both teaching Sunday school, she originally as the superintendent, as I recall it. Although I had a lot of maturing yet to do (and still have more to accomplish in that area even today), I found myself listening, mediating, calming, talking. When she began working as the school librarian, we started meeting once a week in the library for prayer, prayer for our families, our friends, our church, our country and, probably, the world. We met at each other’s house, too.

Then she and her family moved, not far, but far enough that we weren’t within that easy distance for stopping by for a short while. Instead of five minutes or so, we were looking at an investment of twenty or more each way. I stayed busy home schooling, she took a part time job as a reference librarian, a job she kept telling me would be the perfect one for me some day.

But we still made the time to meet periodically. A Caribou Coffee was, although not equidistant, at least not too far out of her way, which brought her that direction sometimes anyway. It was the perfect place to meet, greet, catch up, pray again, make use of the time we had to keep our friendship not only alive, but the kind that works despite the distance and time; the kind where you know if you needed something or someone, you could call or email (I don’t text) the other person and if at all possible, she’d be there. We both have other friends, other things going on in our lives. But it doesn’t matter; we’re both secure enough in what we have to know that it’s important no matter what else is happening, no matter who else is there.

That type of friendship is worth much, especially in a world that grows busier every day, where communication, despite the plethora of ways it can be accomplished, is often sparse or facile, a Facebook world of sound bites and other people’s posts.

We met again Friday morning at CC at GG ( at Caribou Coffee at Golden Gate, the mall location), our shorthand for “our” spot, the place where along with our tea (for me) and coffee (for her), we imbibe the much more delicious and valuable drink of time together with a friend. Another brick in the wall of friendship. The perfect way to start a day!