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As I grow older, I find the world shrinking in its enormity. The huge snowdrifts that I struggled through as a child now barely cover the top of my boots. The road trips that my family takes, although sometimes tedious, don't seem to take years like before. There are not enough hours in the day, and sometimes events come up too quickly aaannnddd sometimes I almost miss them. I don't have countdowns until the next play date with my best friend, I'm scheduling time to spend with her. The people I meet are sometimes a conundrum. I wonder how long an appearance we'll make in each others' lives. Will they be someone who you know for a year or two and then never think of or speak to again? Sometimes you randomly meet people from your childhood, all grown up and reconnect with them. Once in a while, you find a kindred spirit that makes such an impact on your life that you make the effort to know them forever. It's a lot of work to stay friends with those special people though, because you both are growing in different directions. Your horizons are broadening and the responsibility of the world seemingly rests solely upon your shoulders. And trust me, I'm no Hercules. Here's an interesting quote about friends and people passing in and out of your life. I'm not sure where it came from.. "People come, people go - they'll drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past." Friendship is something where you need to focus on the now. If you worry about what tomorrow holds, you might miss being able to help someone in their time of need. But that doesn't mean that you have to completely forget the past, because our past makes us what we are today. We all have a purpose in this world, and are placed in people's lives for a reason. I think my purpose in this world is to be a listener. I can't explain it, I just feel that I have this calling to listen to people whenever they need it. Sometimes it's a lot of pressure and I end up worrying (perhaps) needlessly about someone's well-being, but it's a calling. So now you know. I'm always here to listen.
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