Friendship Connections

I had a conversation about connections, friends and relationships today with one of my closest friends. This question came up, "Will we still be friends in thirty years, like when we are both 80?!" At first we both laughed, I did mainly because I can't picture myself as 80 years old but then I started to think about what that question really meant. Friendship and connecting with others is as important today as they were 30 years ago, high school reunions are proof of that.

With the friends and the connections that I have made since my high school days, how does one keep those lasting 30 years into the future? One of the things that I have learned in the last 30 years is that it is not the number of friends that you have that matters but the quality of the connection. As I grow older I have a stronger desire to make the connections and friendships that I have significant in my life. Having friends is essential at any age, but I am realizing now that those relationships become sweeter, full of flavor and add sparkle to my life.

Strange Example – but it gets to the POINT…
Jane Austen has been my friend for over 30 years and I am sure that my friendship with her will still be as strong in 30 years. Okay, so there is a slight problem she has been dead for about 192 years, but I find myself reading and re-reading her novels, biographies and spinoffs. I have watched all of the movie adaptations of her books and am a life time member of the Jane Austen Society. Why is Jane a friend, because I spend time with her. I learn about her and about the world that she lived in.

If I want connections, friendships to last 30 years into the future, I must do the same thing with those individuals who are a part of my life. I should be less interested in what I can tell them and more interested in their “story” and what they can tell me. I should be learning about their life and their world, learn to be supportive not judge mental. I should show my love more, not less.

My favorite quote is by one of my favorite friends…
"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 Abby

I hope in 30 years, when I am 80, wrinkled and white haired that I will still have the connections that I have today! I hope that over the years they become sweeter, full of flavor and will constantly add sparkle to my life.