Not just a children's story book

And what a tremendous thing friendship is. A friend shared this with others in an email today entitled Discover the Joy of Friendship. Timely and true. I feel so grateful for those people in my life who have been my friend along the way. I have Cheri, who I met when I was three all the way to friends I've made recently here where I live. Each friend is special and has made my life richer.

I will miss the Ladies of Ranchita Canyon and the Bunco Babes and the easy camaraderie. I will miss the Overs and Unders, a group of three under 30 who actually enjoy hanging with three of us well over 30 ladies. We all met when we volunteered for a Wine Competition and the Unders were working for the company organizing it. I will miss being close enough to travel to Orange County to see my best friend and her husband who I have known since she and I were in 2nd grade and then he, when he moved in to Rossmoor a couple years later. They are family after having shared so many years and experiences together. But even as I write this I know that friendship is not always about being together or 'doing' something together. It is about caring for, encouraging, championing, and listening to understand. All of that can be done from a distance. And one can even travel to Tennessee these days.