Just a thought...

The world has become a pretty small place and most of us move around a lot. We move away for school or college (and after a few months for job), and most people have friends across the country and around the globe. But even with cell phones and instant messages, chatting, email, Facebook and Twitter, I find it difficult to maintain close friendships with people who live far away.

Whether we met in high school, college, or some other time in life – chances are high that distance will come between us and some of our closest and dearest friends. Why is it hard to maintain long-distance friendships? When friends staying so far meet after a long long time, I’m elated…we can talk about the big stuff, but there is a lot of pressure to get it all out before your time is up. So much of day to day life is in the small stuff, the things you’d never want to waste time with if you only had a few hours with someone. But the everyday details are what allow you for better understanding and bonding, to take the pressure off a rare visit and focus on the moment.

I should accept that friendships come and go. That’s not to say that people are expendable, just that as we move to new phases of our lives, some relationships naturally drift apart and others form. No matter whatever you try…and hold on; this just happens. The small-small things that we shared each day reduce to just sharing the major things in life.Each of these people represents a cherished part of my life. The precious moments (no matter how small, yet sweet) spent with the dearest ones will always be etched in my heart as they embellish my life.

As these friends move away, and the distance between us grows (blindingly obvious) it feels like I’m moving farther away from what those times in my life represented.Especially now, when my life is challenging and often seems out of control, I am nostalgic for times when the future seemed so bright and full of endless possibility.

(P.S. Friendship is measured by the heart…so no matter how many miles friends are away from us, they are never far apart.)