Sunday, August 24, 2008

Thinking about friends

It's hard to keep up solid long-distance friendships. And with my horrid tendencies towards procrastination, things get complicated. That's why I feel so blessed that in this last month, I've been gifted with at least one email or phone call from someone dear and beloved every week. Surprises that appear out of nowhere, from the depths of a friendship that seemed stalled because of circumstances but comes bubbling back to life in the space of a few well-chosen words and some wise questions.

It makes me miss these people all the more, the fact that no matter what the geographical distance or time that passes between contacts, our bonds don't seem to have lessened. We still find ourselves thinking about the other at odd hours of the day, while waiting for the traffic light to change, choosing canned goods at the supermarket. They appear in our dreams and in the songs that play on the radio. I read their letters and emails with tears in my eyes. The happy, nostalgic kind of tears that don't sting, but water someplace green and jungle-like in my heart. The kind of tears that leave me feeling fuller, more alive than before they were sliding down my cheeks.

Thanks, friends, for making my life bigger, for plying me with questions, making me think and dream and ponder, for sharing about your lives in perfect, diamond shard fragments that make me feel so very, very close even when continents separate us. You are so precious to me...

2 comments:

Ali Ambrosio said...

This is so nice, Jenna. I feel the same way, but I am also aware that I need to make more effort to nurture and maintain my friendships than I've been doing over the past few years. I miss everyone dearly, and would like to rekindle some of those connections. I am inspired by this post to pick up the phone and make some Skype calls!

wren said...

I miss you too!