Yesterday became a delightful medley of spontaneous contact from some long-fast, distant, dear friends. Bethe and I (we’ve known each other for almost 40 years) had scheduled a video chat in the late afternoon. Bethe is a pilot presently working out of Dallas Texas and although we never lost touch, we reconnected more regularly last year and generally video call every week or two. I met Bethe in B.C. when she dated my ex-boyfriend. We later found out, much much much later, that he had kind of dated us both at the same time. Anyway, Bethe and I got on great and remained fast friends over all these years. The ex, not so! Lol. In the morning I received a postcard of the heather on the North Yorkshire Moors. Swoon! This from my old high school friend, Angela. She is an incredibly accomplished visual artist and one of my biggest fans regarding my writing. She also sends lots of ‘home-spun’ Yorkshire stuff even though she now lives in southern England. The postcard lifted my spirits no end. The Moors, and especially the sea of purple heather, does that to me. As do little snail-mail notes from Angela telling about her and her twin sister’s activities. Even though we also email, these cards and notes delight me. Who doesn’t like to be thought of in the middle of someone else’s adventures? Then yesterday evening my phone pinged with a facebook messenger note over two phone screens long from Sheila, also a high school friend. I’ve known my high school friends about 48 years. Sheila was catching me up on her family’s comings and goings. A lovely soft place to land at the end of the day. A spontaneous trio of hearts and kisses, lots of loves and ‘Love you!’s from people I equally cherish heralded me throughout the day. What could be better? A couple of days before, in a miserable mood, I had gone for a walk by the railway tracks close to my home. Sometimes I had to dodge iron rail spikes scattered on the ground. On impulse, close to the path leading back to my road, I told myself that if I found another before that path, I would pick it up and bring it home. No idea why at the time. I did find one: old, uneven and mottled orange with rust. At least it had character. I wanted to put it on my altar, again not realising why. But at home, as I held it in my hand, feeling its weight, I understood. Iron. The town where I grew up in the north of England had developed in the early 1800s because of iron ore in the hills behind it. No mines were in operation when we lived there but the town was full of mining stories and water ran orange in the hill’s ditches. Sometimes even from the taps! Maggie and I grew up houses apart and throughout many many years have boosted each other up by reminding ourselves that we can handle anything—we’re tough and strong because we have iron in our veins. The rail spike will be a terrific reminder! A few years ago, Maggie (we call each other Souley as we’ve known each other so long and Maggie has special names for all her close friends) sent me a glass coaster which I use everyday. Yorkshire Lass, it reads, a nod to my email address, Born and Brewed in Yorkshire. For me, one of the biggest comforts in life is treasured friendships. All the years between old friends become a hammock of memories and shared experiences. Friends, especially old friends, carry the truth of each other’s histories and remind each other that they’re loved regardless. I am extremely fortunate to have some of the very best. Day 254 #365daysofsybwriting #365daysofhaiku Postcards from old friends video calls, messages cushions of comfort Day 11 of Effy’s Blogalong
7 Comments
Angela F
9/11/2021 11:03:04 pm
Great read, so lovely that you have stayed in touch with your friends over the years.
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Susan Renshaw
9/12/2021 06:22:47 am
Lovely that you are still in touch with these old friends!
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April Laramey
9/12/2021 08:44:18 pm
What a lovely series of reconnections!
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AuthorWelcome! I'm Sue Blott: a writer of all things, a poet at heart, mom, wife, daughter, step-mom, grandma, tea drinker, tai chi-er, mystic, artist, dreamer...and now a blogger! This is my world. Categories |