“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust
The blessing of friendships is one that should never be taken for granted. Friends listen when we need them, keep us honest, support us and love us — warts and all. Time spent in their company can be energizing and cathartic.
I’m extremely grateful for the ‘charming gardeners’ in my life, those who I feel very fortunate to count as friends. Unfortunately, however, many of them are not as geographically close as I would like, thus resulting in our times together being far more infrequent than I would like. One particular group of cherished old gal pals and I have been trying to get together for an outing for several months. As is often the case, of course, life has found ways to alter our plans and we’ve faced postponement after postponement.
One of the realities around which we must schedule our gatherings is employment, of course. While the other four are retired, I’m still slaving away at the 9-5 grind, which certainly limits options. And, with kids and grandchildren still thankfully needing all of us, for this and that, we have to shift even the opportunity for time with good friends a little further down the priority list.
On the plus side, we all feel the the same dedication to making something work out. Friendships are too important to let go and the long history attached to ours means it’s even more worthy of preserving. We first met through our mutual love of singing, as members of a chorale group, some four decades ago. It didn’t take us long to discover that we actually had many things in common, while we also admired each other’s unique traits.
When the chorus eventually disbanded, we suddenly found ourselves in the position of no longer seeing each other on a regular basis. It took us a while to build a routine that would keep us in touch, but we’ve managed.
When we do get together now, making the most of the day or evening isn’t something we have to work at. Our friendship spans decades, has seen us through everything from worrying about our kids to grieving the loss of our parents. We have seen each other at our worst and really don’t care. We share a dirty sense of humour, strong family values and that love of music.
There are gregarious personalities among us that complements the more introverted. They are outgoing, charming and full of life, meaning that time spent with them is an always an excellent reminder to the rest of us to smile and let go. Conversely, we know that we keep the others more grounded. (Sometimes, there’s one in particular who probably should be.)
Over the years, of course, our times together have been chronicled photographically. Though perhaps there were a few that might have been better not preserved for posterity. Regardless, when there have been too many days between our visits, it’s a treat to take a look back and remember the fun of a particular outing.
Also, as it is any time I think about the pictures I’ve taken over the years, I find myself wondering what could have improved the photographic results. Here are some tips that might help answer that question:
Master Taking Candid Photos of Your Friends
