A Little Help from Old Friends

I went to Vancouver this past weekend along with a friend, to visit another good friend .  It was a great trip - lots of sightseeing, visiting, and laughing packed into three days!  Vancouver even greeted us with uncharacteristic bright, sunny, warm weather upon our arrival, and even though it was short, it was definitely sweet!  We spent some time walking and goofing around on Granville Island, travelled to Whistler, and walked around downtown Vancouver and one of the beautiful forests in Burnaby.  Also lots of time playing with my lovely niece, who gets cuter every day.  I already miss waking up to her smiling face!  It was lovely to get away and relax - I didn't think about my thesis all weekend, a welcome break from something that generally occupies every waking thought!

But the biggest thing I took away from the weekend was the importance of spending time with great friends.  I've been blessed throughout my life with so many awesome friends, however I am also at the stage of life where I don't generally see them as often as I would like to.  In high school, you spent all day at school and pretty much all of your free time out of it with friends, and it was the same in university.  But now, life gets in the way - jobs, geography, grad school, spouses, families, commitments, etc.  This a natural part of growing up.  But it was so wonderful to spend some quality time with old friends over the weekend, and reaffirm that it doesn't matter if you've moved, changed jobs, become a parent, lost loved ones, or been diagnosed with a chronic disease; kindred spirits remain kindred spirits, and true friends remain true friends.  Time and distance do take their toll, and these kinds of friendships require effort to sustain - but the rewards are so totally worth it!

I do love quotes, and I came across a friendship one that I think says it all about my weekend:

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

- Elizabeth Foley