Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Blogoff Post #8: Friendship



I'm a really slack friend.

Seriously.

You ask my friends!

I hardly ever ring my long-distance friends because the last thing I want to do when I get home from work after being on the phone all day is to get on the phone again!!


So I'm slack. I occasionally email. Or I ring on public holidays or weekends when I haven't had a chance to develop a phone aversion.

But you know the great thing? For most of my friendships, it doesn't matter. We have such a strong connection that when we finally catch up we pick up exactly where we left off.

Other friendships have not lasted the distance because they were built on random and arbitary factors such as location and schooling. It turned out the only thing we had in common was our high school - no shared interet, nothing strong enough to sustain an enduring friendship. Sometimes I reach out to the old days and contact someone through schoolfriends.com only to find that we still have nothing in common.

Leane and I have been best friends since 2nd grade when she turned up on the swing in my neighbour's yard and I recognised her from school. Her house backed onto bush and we had many great adventures exploring the river at the bottom of the bush. Later we were to have lots of adult adventures including the time we placed an ad in the paper, and then double-dated the guys who answered. My nana had a friendship that lasted 50 years - wonder if we will make it that far?

As we become older, we can pick our friends by shared interests. My writing friends are a great bunch of people and I love spending time with them. And I also believe that every person enters your life jst when they're supposed to. We all influence and motivate each other in different ways. And every year, I really look forward to our pilgrimage to Byron Bay Writers Festival.





My friends have contributed to my development as a writer. They have encouraged me, motivated me, inspired me - sometimes they have even pushed me. Beyond Happily Ever After, my short story about Cinderella, would not have been written without Caz's encouragement. And I hope that I do the same for them - encourage, motivate, inspire. After all, isn't that what friendship's about?


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favorite friends are the one that I go months without talking to and then just resume where we left off when we get back in touch. It's such a great feeling to know that even in their absence, they've 100% got your back.

Anonymous said...

I am a slacker friend too sometimes...and I totally never thought about how friends drift away because of the random nature of the connection. Great observation.

Erin said...

i think combining writing and friends is one of the best things. my friends are always my best readers and constructive "critiquers".

Anonymous said...

I want writer friends. A writer festival sounds nerdy, but that is so me anyway.

Here's to you and your friend for 50 years of friendship!

Anonymous said...

"I hardly ever ring my long-distance friends because the last thing I want to do when I get home from work after being on the phone all day is to get on the phone again!!
So I'm slack. I occasionally email. Or I ring on public holidays or weekends when I haven't had a chance to develop a phone aversion.
But you know the great thing? For most of my friendships, it doesn't matter. We have such a strong connection that when we finally catch up we pick up exactly where we left off."

Dianne those paragraphs are seriously word for word the same as what I think about frienda and phone calls and keeping in touch! Amazing!

ciao Karina xx

Anonymous said...

Hello Diane! Good to read your post and it's great to learn about your friends.I have a blog on friends, so I'm sure you'll love to drop by.Since Best Friends Day is close by(8th June)you can take this opportunity to connect with your friends and perhaps renew the bond with your long-distance friends.Friendship is a gift that is to be sustained forever.Finally, the photos are cool, though I'm confused,which one is you:)Enjoy!