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Friday, December 16, 2016

"Rekindling old friendships..." 'Judith Whitehead' (inspiration Friday)

Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst New York
( A suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.)
 and has worked in the ophthalmology
 field of medicine for nearly 40 years

Rekindling old friendships 

Rekindling old friendships can bring comfort and happiness.

Now that I have my Mondays'off from work, I have a little more time to relax and reflect. I have been used to working 5 days a week for many years and although I cram 40 hours into four days, it makes a huge difference. No longer do I dread Sunday because I know another “Sunday” is coming
tomorrow.


It seems as we age we reflect more and more on the past and remember those we spent time with growing up. We seem to table those relationships as we grow, get married, start families and focus on the immediate. Now after our families have grown and our nests becomes empty, we have the time to
reflect on our lives when they were more simple as we were growing up.

I have reconnected with a few of my childhood friends recently and find it not only relaxing to reflect on the past but glean comfort in talking about the “good ole days” and how simple those times really were. At the time spent when we were teenagers, we had the weight of the world on our shoulders; little did we know that life was so simple then. We all know how our lives pass before our eyes so quickly doing our daily routines that we have little time to reflect on the past as we grow from children to adults.


Many years ago I reconnected, actually through Facebook, with a friend from high school that I had not seen in years who had moved to Florida. She derived much happiness in talking about those simple times that we enjoyed as teenagers as she had become quite sick and let me know how she cherished those talks we had before she passed away a few years ago.

We seem to table those relationships as we pull away from our core families and start new families of our own while becoming anxious to start new memories.

As our lives become more quiet and retrospective, we seem to turn to the past to relive memories when times were simple and unencumbered with responsibilities. Now with the help of the internet and advancing technology, it becomes possible to search out old friends that have disappeared from our lives and to rekindle old friendships.


Time seems to be a great equalizer and those people we found in high school to be with the “in crowd” are now all the same in the real world and status falls by the wayside as reality sets in.

As we venture on with our lives, after we have finished school, we have open opportunity set before us for the taking. I have been to a few high school reunions, and find it amazing what people have done or not done with their lives. Many had circumstances that dictated the direction in which their lives had gone and others passed up many opportunities with having fear of the unknown.

We become our worst enemies and become reticent to take a chance. We all make mistakes along the way but soon realize if we are lucky enough to have a second chance, we can always start over. If we
have our health in tact, there is usually a way.

I now make an effort at least a few times a month to meet up and rekindle friendships with those I have not seen in years. It is an enjoyable way to spend a few hours away from the everyday turmoil of life and to reminisce about the past. The time flies by as we laugh and talk and I have found great
comfort in those hours. I recommend it highly to those that can; take a breather, take some time and make the time to break away from the present. You will walk away with a feeling of contentment and happiness that will keep you smiling for at least little while.

Hana Hou, (Encore)