Friendships Yesterday and Today

Female friendships of the 40's and 50"s are different from our female friendships today. I watched my mother and her acquaintances become great friends over a cup of coffee. The Waldo's, the Zevely's, the Woodson's and the Smith's became part of my extended family. My mother and her friends attended church and school activities together. In the evening the friendships included the husbands and children often playing their favorite game - 42.

They met over an invitation to come for mid-morning coffee and bonded over that cup of coffee. They became great friends offering one another moral support for the problems women of that time faced- - for advice regarding child rearing, support of the marriage, and discussion of current events. Many of these women had spouses or brothers in the war.

Today working women don't have the luxury of coffee breaks with their neighbors so they choose their friends from the women who surround them daily from 9-5. And above all else, they have work in common. These women bond around the conference table. They still  find time to talk about children, their activities and development. and worry together about care for elderly parents. Advice for mothers might  range from homespun advice to a  suggestion of  professional counseling. 

Furthermore, movng from job to job, some of these friendships are maintained while others seem to suffer under the geographical changes. I have friends who live across the country from me. Still, when I pick up the phone and hear their voices, I am transported back to that other time,  and I feel they are just around the corner. Other women might not be  so fortunate when they have to move to another job or town.

With the popularity of cell phone, it is easier to find time to talk with one another, and computers and e-mail save us time when communicating.  We are never far from those whom we care for and love.

I am thankful for all of my friends. The roles they play in my life are important. Another time we will get into what makes a good friend. When I think of friendships, I always remember a little poem  I learned years ago. I don't know the author, but I bet I'm not the only person to quote his words.
..
Friendship is like china
Precious rich and rare,
and once that it is broken,
the crack is always there.

Kate Reno