tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post8041865052902539166..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: We Don’t Lose Friends…Ashe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-271650188947132292015-04-17T01:23:35.569-04:002015-04-17T01:23:35.569-04:00Thank you to everyone who commented! My apologies ...Thank you to everyone who commented! My apologies for being behind in my replies. I was on a family road trip for nearly the entire time between when I posted this and now.Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-70851777185611515102015-04-17T01:22:54.802-04:002015-04-17T01:22:54.802-04:00Thanks, Annabeth. I do enjoy trying to create a sl...Thanks, Annabeth. I do enjoy trying to create a slightly new way of saying things. I'm glad the post resonated for its phrases as much as for its spirit. And thank you for the welcome!Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-87916852064465323572015-04-17T01:21:57.896-04:002015-04-17T01:21:57.896-04:00It's those ones you keep who are truly valuabl...It's those ones you keep who are truly valuable of course, Rhonda. Temporary friendships still add value to people's lives, but holding on to the ones that matter is wonderful. Thank you for coming over and commenting!Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-81155355514889466522015-04-17T01:20:16.678-04:002015-04-17T01:20:16.678-04:00Hi, Barrie! I agree, we haven't chatted nearly...Hi, Barrie! I agree, we haven't chatted nearly enough in the past year or two. My gosh, things just jump on our shoulders and weigh us down sometimes. That's life, of course, but hopefully we can get back to a nice back-and-forth rhythm soon. Thanks for coming over and saying g'day!Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-45931207189655736532015-04-17T01:18:51.595-04:002015-04-17T01:18:51.595-04:00Yes, we definitely grow accustomed to losing peopl...Yes, we definitely grow accustomed to losing people, the older we get. Which kind of sucks in its own way, of course. Thanks for coming over and commenting, Donna!Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-19564784209713913382015-04-17T01:17:52.821-04:002015-04-17T01:17:52.821-04:00Thanks, Lisabet. I've read articles on that &q...Thanks, Lisabet. I've read articles on that "geography" element before, dealing with people from my parents' generation mostly. The differences for men and women from those times, in particular. Where women had spent their lives building a home and a social life, men so often spent their time working. When work finished, they realised they'd barely invested themselves in a social life outside of work, leading to isolation in their senior years, especially if they outlived their wives.Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-18419787118973631942015-04-17T01:14:39.733-04:002015-04-17T01:14:39.733-04:00Oh, yes, I hear you completely. Sometimes the abse...Oh, yes, I hear you completely. Sometimes the absence of a physical element in a friendship leads to far greater and more intimate verbal communication. Of course, that can then lead to a reluctance to cross the line into a physical meeting! I mean, you have to shave and wear clean clothes for that!Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-19760276637621350162015-04-17T01:13:08.967-04:002015-04-17T01:13:08.967-04:00Thanks, Daddy. I agree about the changes that take...Thanks, Daddy. I agree about the changes that take place. Sometimes it's the change of head space which then demands a change of location, too.Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-9454898427089513822015-04-09T07:02:27.584-04:002015-04-09T07:02:27.584-04:00Welcome, Willsin! Wow, you've got some great t...Welcome, Willsin! Wow, you've got some great turns of phrase. I may steal your line about friendships falling down the back of the couch, for my own personal use of course. That's a great description of a phenomenon I've experienced. <br /><br />And what you say about moving is exactly right. I've lived in so many places, and only a handful of my relationships have survived the inevitable breaks that has caused. <br /><br />Anyway, thanks for the eloquent piece, and I look forward to getting to know you through The Grip! :)Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-80000976225148108702015-04-04T13:29:17.518-04:002015-04-04T13:29:17.518-04:00I was an army brat, moving every 2-3 years. Then I...I was an army brat, moving every 2-3 years. Then I got a job that moved me every 5-15 years. Made temporary friends who I valued but knew I would leave behind. But kept 2 from high school that have been with me for life.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05781036709323796952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-88136314085762008902015-04-04T08:17:39.801-04:002015-04-04T08:17:39.801-04:00Hi, Willsin, and welcome.
What you wrote here rea...Hi, Willsin, and welcome.<br /><br />What you wrote here really hits home. I know what it's like to move a long distance, to leave behind those you love, and the difficulty of maintaining friendships. I've had a few such changes in my life in the past few years. But how you said it is beautiful and raw and full of truth.<br /><br />I haven't been good at keeping up with you (I have the same carelessness with friendships, and it's something I work on). But I do hope that the move turns out to be a good beginning, even as missing the old might still twinge.Barrie Abalardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-63993652471147395762015-04-04T07:28:44.913-04:002015-04-04T07:28:44.913-04:00Absolutely true. I have misplaced childhood frien...Absolutely true. I have misplaced childhood friends for years & reconnected with no sense of that lost time. No why, where or what...but others, I get a sense that there is a finality to the hazy end. <br />I still tear up a bit when people leave but I have toughened up a smidgen over the years.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13384803529046001339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-15422840399488784672015-04-03T22:40:03.468-04:002015-04-03T22:40:03.468-04:00Welcome, Willsin! Thanks for joining us. At this p...Welcome, Willsin! Thanks for joining us. At this point, we're definitely global.<br /><br />I think Daddy's right in saying that connections fade more from internal than from external changes. People we thought were our close friends turn out to be no more than acquaintances when we discover that all we really had in common was geography. Or lives and focus change, and the connection that used to be strong fades. Many of my husband's and my friends drifted away from us when they had kids and we did not, for example. <br /><br />Looking at the bright side, though, the magic box sometimes lets us renew friendships that we'd dismissed. Recently I started corresponding with a woman who was a good friend in high school, but whom I had not heard from in years. She's smart and funny and has had a fantastically interesting life...I'm so glad we reconnected. <br /><br />AND the Internet does make it easier to maintain those friendships that are important, even over distance. All we need is the time and the intention.<br /><br />Great to have you here!Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-50161266064892075582015-04-03T20:31:48.108-04:002015-04-03T20:31:48.108-04:00My magic picture box is on my lap, not my desk, bu...My magic picture box is on my lap, not my desk, but yes, some of the best friends I've never met communicate through that box. Usually our bond starts with being writers, and then expands. I have one good friend in Queensland who may someday come close enough for us to meet, and two friends in New Zealand who probably never will, but I feel like I know them as well, if not better, than people within easy driving distance.<br /><br />So welcome, Willsin. Queensland doesn't feel all that far away.Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-68293630615127719982015-04-03T10:03:23.464-04:002015-04-03T10:03:23.464-04:00Oh yeah! welcome to the Grip, Willsin! Just wait&#...Oh yeah! welcome to the Grip, Willsin! Just wait'll the folks see the cool cover you did for me.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-26932361704978640022015-04-03T10:01:58.078-04:002015-04-03T10:01:58.078-04:00As we grow older (hopefully) we evolve and change....As we grow older (hopefully) we evolve and change. Sometimes these changes take the form of a change in location. Other times it's a shift of head space. Would our friends of old understand who we have become? Our friendships evolve... or they whither.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.com