Friends Forever

Friendship day went off uneventfully for me. I just wished a long lost pal by email and I also wrote to madmomma as I think she needs an extra friend now. My daughter had a busy day though. She made eight friendship bands to take to school today! She had received two bands from friends and was thinking of giving one to all her friends. This is the time that friends are made, so you have to work hard to strengthen the ties. At my stage I think you start taking your friends for granted, there is no outward show and exchanging of gifts. In fact we have let each other lead our separate lives for years on end. However friendship is such a bond that I am sure that if we meet after all these years we will launch into each other's arms and start from where we had left off. This I can say of not one but atleast ten or so friends. Its as if we have never been apart, no distance, no communication gap, neither motherhood nor domesticity, nothing, absolutely nothing has come in the way or ever will. That is the force of friendship.

I was lamenting that I have not sent wishes to many of my friends when my husband quietly said, "am I not your friend too", that shocked me considerably, I had completely forgotten about this chap and his solid friendship. This sort of forced me to look into this relationship of ours. We have each seen the other's worst...I mean really the worst.. and still we want to share our life with each other. If this is not friendship what is? I wonder about us, two strangers brought together by our family members, with some peculiar force joining us together. When he comforts me he is my mom, when he goads me to complete my pending academic work he's like my dad, when he encourages me in different ways he is my cousin, when he opens his heart to me he is like my child. He is all relations rolled into one- I quite like the guy, in spite of the fact that most often I feel like wringing his neck! However he and I are in a pitiable state due to the onslaught of our children who demand most of my attention with the result that the husband goes about like a misguided missile and when I am free of the kids I hardly have time or energy to interact with him. He spends most of the day in office and the pressure of this lack of face to face communication is telling on both of us, we have most of our discussions on the phone.

I have heard of husbands loosing it when the wife is thus engaged with the kids but my chap is hanging on bravely and I admire him for that so when he said"am..." I got a jolt. I know he will be there for me when the kids have grown up and I have more time to give him. All I want to say is I love you husband, and am proud to have a friend like you.