Old Friends

Exploring the world of Facebook recently has reminded me how much I treasure old friends. It has been rewarding to find some of them with whom I have been out of touch of late, some for quite a long time. I have a little plaque in my kitchen that says "The best antiques are old friends." It's true. There's nothing (at least for me) like having a history with people. Friends might mean a bit more to me, perhaps, because I don't have family, really. My father wasn't in my life for years, and passed away a few years ago. My mother has been dead for many years. Regrettably, I have been out of touch with my only sibling, my younger sister, for many years. I have very little extended family, as well; two aunts with whom I am in contact via e-mail and fairly infrequent phone calls.

I recently gave my friend Carol a plaque (second "plaque" reference--do I sense a theme here?) which reads "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves." (I stole this picture from her blog--thank you, Carol.) That is how I feel about my closest friends; they sustain me, as I can only imagine family would, or should. I don't know how much closer I could feel to them if they were family; they are what I do have, and I am grateful--I love them.

I've noticed as I've gotten older that I don't seem to have much of an interest in making new friends. Other than people who come into my life through work, and who I see on a daily basis--some of whom have indeed become very good friends--I have little opportunity, and admittedly make little effort, to meet new people. Maybe that's why old friends are even more treasured. I wonder--is this an "aging" thing, or is it just me? Or is it just the manifestation of a basically introverted nature? Maybe introverts just like the ease of relating to people who have known us forever, just so we can save ourselves the effort (and initial discomfort) of forming new relationships.

Hmmm... This isn't where I thought this was going. Sometimes this process takes on kind of a stream-of-consciousness, journaling sort of thing. Is that good, or just TMI? I wonder.

Just as I was posting this entry, I saw this quote on the sidebar of my blog, a quote from John Quincy Adams: "A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections." Ah, here's the answer to my question already. I'm just "reflecting."