Old Friends

Many good things happened when I lived in Buffalo. I met my husband there. I survived medical school. I was well equipped to deal with arctic temperatures and the lake effect snow. I also made some close friends. Most of my friends came from the New York City area, so when they graduated from college, they moved back home.

Amy is the only one who stayed in Buffalo. Her family is there. Her husband grew up in Queens, attended college in Buffalo, and stayed. It is always nice to catch up with Amy. If we weren’t living more than 400 miles apart, we would likely see each other every week. She is easy to talk to. We have the same values. There is no holding back. We are both open and ready to talk about what our deepest thoughts are. Whenever we catch up in person, we just pick up right we left off the last time.

Amy and her family do go to New York City from time to time. Sometimes for a wedding, other times to visit her husband’s family. Most of these visits are too rushed for her to take time out for us to get together. My visit to Buffalo for 4 days is the best time for us. No strict schedule, nothing much scheduled, other than my daughter’s swim meet for a few hours each day.

I don’t have many close friends. I treasure the few I have. They are all ready to share everything happy or sad, exciting or dreadful, uplifting or dreadful. We can always be ourselves. My friends always remind me of who I am, what I value. Not that they are the reason for me to be me. I am always grateful to have a small troop of like-minded friends. Our strong bonds will never be broken.