Baby Boomers and their “besties”. A concept that has stood the test of time since our births…1946-1964.
I attribute those solid forever school friend relationships to the need we had when our stay at home Mom’s moved into the work force. We only had each other to learn from during those daylight hours that we spent carousing about our towns.
Forever friends are the siblings that we actually got along with. They would be the ones who would understand our brand of craziness more than anyone with very little need for explanation of exactly what we were frustrated about at home.
Thanks to those friends, we had a place to have sleepovers on the weekends when the going really got rough at home OR our parents brought in another blessed sibling for us to share life with. NOT exactly an ideal joy but hey, we had our friends to give us solace when the new kid screamed through most nights.
Of course we loved the new siblings. But our best friends were always there side by side with us as we clambered up a tree and almost fell to our deaths. Laughter was always the best medicine in those situations.
If we’ve been lucky and life has been incredibly kind, we may still have those oldies but goodies in our lives. Gray haired, and chock full of those old memories that have taken on a new version. But who’s left to confirm the authenticity at this point in our lives?
Sometimes, time passes, and those friendships are unintentionally reduced to a Christmas card or if our memories permit, we might even recall a birthday to be able to offer a connection that may have faded over time.
Then, a stark reality hits home and suddenly we might find ourselves making that connection again due to the news of an illness or God forbid the passing of a friend.
Talk about stark reality checks.
The questions about the issues don’t matter, do they?
Time passed. One day blended into another then drifted into months then years and our own reality checks are doubled down with these calls that come about quite unexpectedly.
New friends become those connections that we begin to rely on in the new groups that we might join as we get older. The old stories don’t seem to matter as much anymore….but we can understand the necessity that just being in community is and the value of those connections.
Besties can be reborn at every age that we achieve in this life.
Pat Larsen is a syndicated columnist and author. Her passion is bringing Aging with Grace programs to her favorite people, Baby Boomers, weekly, as a Fitness Instructor at The Shamrock House in Greenville, NY
Feel free to contact Pat via email to share your story…pelarsen5@aol.com or at 518-275-8686
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