long term friendships which are treasures. I have a few of those that go back. None from childhood or high school like some but a few from college; and then through the years, those special people one meets and the connection lasts.
One such is Parapluie, Umbrella Painting Journal. She and I met because my husband's friend was dating her. Actually she had dated two of his friends. When she and her husband (who remained my husband's friend) married, we were at their wedding. We did things as couples including all four heading to Arizona for our husbands to attend graduate school. We moved into the same apartment
complex-- strung out wings composed of small one or two bedroom apartments each with its own little patio, a central club house, and swimming pool, the desert not far beyond its walls... sometimes crawling within them as in rattlers and tarantulas. We each planted our little gardens but in very different styles.
Every morning, with our husbands off to school, she and I would meet at her kitchen or mine before our day would begin and we'd have a cup of coffee. We would sit and talk about politics, philosophy, ideas, art, our families, whatever came up. The conversations got very deep sometimes and we didn't always agree but we did respect each other's opinions. We sometimes painted out on the desert and from her more extensive knowledge of painting technique, I learned much.
The years passed. Degrees were gotten. They moved farther north than we did but we kept in loose touch, wrote letters frequently, came to some partings of the ways over philosophical beliefs, rejoined, saw our children raised,
married, with children of their own, and here we are-- still friends who sometimes manage to meet over coffee (mostly tea these days) to discuss ideas before we both go off to our work. Something that was a treasure back then and still is today.
(Pictures are from ferry crossing to Vancouver Island 1970 and New Year's Eve celebration 2001)
5 comments:
How rich and wonderful to have good, long-time friendships. We're newcomers to our home here in the northwest, and have met some lovely people, but our long-time friends are far away. We've learned how to keep in touch, and truly, email and blogging has made it much easier!
Lovely story of good friendships, Rain.
Rain, Thank you for your friendship and writing about it.
Your ideas have always stimulated my thinking and art. It is great to have the time as we get older to nurture our friendship.
My blog, Umbrella Watercolor Journal, is under going maintainence. It has been stored on a bad filler. The last update on the problem was 7 AM, so they are still working on it.
I THOUGHT I recognized the scenery! Bit dated though!
I often see Parapluie's name in your comments and now I put a face to the name--and what cute kids you both had--who now have kids of their own. Old friends are the best kinds of friends, though some of my later in life friends are the ones I have the most in common with as now that the kids are grown and gone, a lot of my old friends think I'm nutty as a fruitcake. Obviously, you two love and respect each other-and are close enough for an occasional get together.
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