Friendship

Today, the adorable grandchild arrives for his farm fix. When he returns to the city his best friend will be gone, sucked up into the tornado of  family relocation.
It had all the makings of a deep and life long friendship. Their teacher commented it wasn't often she saw such a strong bond between two first graders. I feel for my little guy.

When I was his age I had a perfect friendship. Too young to think about it deeply, we simply connected on a plane known only to us. Time stopped and the outside world disappeared. We could play for hours with barely a word or giggle about nothing for the same amount of time. We lived in the moment and never thought about tomorrow.

But tomorrow came along with a huge moving truck.  About a year later we ran into the family at an air show. No great exclamations of joy, we just began to play immediately. I remember we spent hours exploring a great pile of wood and rocks while everyone else was awed by the 'planes. Then her Dad called her and she was gone.

How far did they move, I wonder. People didn't drive as far as they do now so if both families turned up to the same show I suspect the distance wasn't huge. No effort was made to help us keep in touch, no letters or summer holiday visits. Perhaps our friendship would have waned but perhaps not.

Don't worry, little guy, your mother knows the value of a lifelong friendship. Arrangements have been made. Meanwhile, at your age, there is an ebb and flow of friends and new connections will begin and end right through to college.

As for me, of course I made new friends and yet

Queenie Baldwin, who went to Ringsfield school in Suffolk, England and played with Susan from a neighbouring farm, after a half century, I still miss you.

Harper Collins book quotes