Make new friends but keep the old

Nicole

Can everyone sing the old song, “Make new friends,

but keep the old,

one is silver,

and the other’s gold“?

Delicious Vietnamese lunch

I was fortunate enough to meet a *relatively* new friend while visiting with my family downstate last week.  Nicole is an Internet buddy.  We met at least five years ago (so she says) on Gaia.com, a now-defunct spiritual website, which has  incarnated to anewgaia.com.  She also has a WordPress blog called Kumon of Hamilton.

We graduated from commenting on each other’s blogs to emailing to telephoning to Skyping as the years passed.  Because we’d Skyped and seen each other via a web-cam it really didn’t seem like much difference when we each drove 1-2 hours to meet halfway in London, Ontario, for lunch last Tuesday.

In fact it seemed like we were already old friends–starting up the conversation as if we were buddies from long long ago.

Nicole enjoys a banana split

Nicole is such a sweet, intelligent, thoughtful person.  She told interesting family stories that kept me riveted and intrigued.

She proved–once again–that an Internet friendship can prove to be just as “real” and valuable and interesting as a friendship initially formed on the physical streets of our hometowns.

I enjoy some kind of coffee dessert

A few days later, my old friend, Christie, came visiting at my parent’s house in Yale.  (I use the term “old” only in reference to our many, many years of friendship.  Neither Christie or I are certainly old!!)  We probably walked to kindergarten together, a fact which Christie would surely remember, because she remembers everything about our childhood. (Your blogger needs her childhood friends because she can hardly remember anything…)

I do remember walking with her regularly to junior high.  We trudged over the Mill Creek Bridge together and followed the sidewalk under the chestnut tree on Main Street toward the old school.

We remained friends in high school, and guess what?  Christie was in our wedding and I could prove it to you if you looked through our wedding album.  (I sort of remember our wedding.  Almost.)

She is a lovely person with an easy laugh and down-to-earth personality. When our daughter went to Michigan State University, guess who watched after her and sent little gifts during exam time?  You’ve got it.  Christie.

I am so glad we’re still friends all these years later.

My childhood friend, Christie

Seriously, though, I feel very grateful to have met with two such wonderful women during the past week.  They’re both silver and gold as far as I’m concerned!

Thank you, Nicole and Christie, for your visits.  I really appreciate both of you!

Have you met any Internet friends recently?  Or seen any old buddies from childhood?