Friendship.. Then and now!

My dear friend,

It’s been a really really long time since we became friends first. Our friendship probably is almost as old as we are today. We know each other since kindergarten and today our kids have also passed kindergarten. It’s amazing how our friendship grew with us and is still as strong as ever. Today, when I look back at those days, it feels like a different era. 

In those times, friendship was considered to be a beautiful relationship which bonded two strangers into a lifelong bond and an unforgettable journey of togetherness and companionship. And ours, indeed, was a friendship to remember. We behaved and did everything as sisters would do, only that we were born from different mothers. The journey from school to being college graduates only got exciting and thrilling each passing year and it was just because I had you as my companion. For every little thing. We were like partners in crime. And even otherwise. I mean we couldn’t think of doing anything without each other. We had an amazing and marvelous friendship then. 

Not that it isn’t anymore. Our bond is still the same. But things and circumstances have changed. We got married and got submerged into our respective lives being an ideal wife, daughter-in-law and a mother eventually. Our friendship became a last priority. The equation didn’t change overnight, obviously, but over the years I realized that our friendship wasn’t the same like it used to be before. Where we didn’t part even for a few hours, we are not able to meet for years now. Where we spent hours talking and gossiping with each other, we just get to chat on social media once in a while. Where we told each other in detail of what’s happening in our life, we only get to know about it through social media now.  Where we knew by one look at each others face of whats going on in our minds or if we are feeling low, we need help of virtual emoticons to do that for us now. Where we used to see each other everyday, we now have to suffice with seeing a picture of each other shared once in a while over the internet or through facetime. Everything has changed and so has our friendship. The friendship that was so real and true has been reduced to a friendship so virtual and illusionary. 

And I don’t blame either of us for that. It’s the trend these days. It's almost impossible to find such real friendships anywhere these days. We have become so obsessed with the virtual life that we have almost forgotten the difference between real and unreal.  I agree, that to a certain extent the virtuality helps us in being connected even when we are miles away from each other. But we should not be overwhelmed by it and let it define how we should maintain our relationships. If our family is away from us, don’t we all make efforts to meet them as often as we could or talk to them everyday. Then why should a friendship be treated any differently. Infact, a friendship is the only relation, apart from your spouse, that you can choose for yourself. As they say, good friends are hard to find. So why do we let them slip away like the sand and not value it like we do our other relations. 

I always knew the importance of having a good friend around since you were always there for me when I needed you, then. But now that you are not around, I miss having a good friend who supports you morally and is there for you when you need them the most. I also tried making new friends but no one could replace you. I realize that even now, after all these years of staying apart, I still consider you as my best friend. And no one in this world can take the place you have, in my heart. Not even my husband. And I also realized that the only reason our bond didn’t weaken, is that we had a real friendship for a long long time before the virtual friendship invaded us and took over.

I wonder if our kids will develop friendships as strong as ours. I doubt. Yet I hope. Because, undoubtedly, friendship is a life’s most beautiful gift which needs to be cherished forever! And I am blessed to be a receiver of that wonderful gift.

You best friend forever.