Make New Friends, but keep the old

General 2 Minutes

I was in Girl Scouts once upon a time. It feels like eons ago at times and yet so much of that experience (maybe a year or so) has actually stuck with me over the years. Maybe it was because we not only had a troop but I went to a camp in the mountains.

One of the songs we had started with the words in the title above. The full lyrics are below.

Make new friends,
But keep the old.
One is silver,
And the other, gold.
A circle’s round
It has no end
That’s how long
I’m gonna be your friend.

A fire burns bright,
It warms the heart.
We’ve been friends,
From the very start.
You help me,
And I’ll help you
And together
We will see it through.
The sky is blue
The Earth is green
I can help
To keep it clean.
Across the land
Across the sea
Friends forever
We will always be.

https://www.songsforteaching.com/folk/makenewfriends.php

This idea that both old and new friends are key and significant was present in my mind this past weekend when I spent some time with some old friends. We aren’t old (although we played a game that made us feel a bit old) and yet we’ve been through a heck of a lot together.

Job changes

Infertility struggles

Babies

More babies

Starting our own firms

Moving out of state

Looking back, we’ve been through a lot of firsts and changes and lasts. We were drawn together for a variety of reasons and there was a larger group once. Now, it’s the 4 of us.

Breakfast at the end of our weekend.

We’d previously commissioned this amazing art from a picture from the very first Orlando Metsquerade back pre-COVID.

What does it mean to be a forever friend?

I think there are a lot of intangibles that make a lifelong or forever friendship last and commitment is certainly part of it. Commitment to ensuring that the relationship grows, that there are touch points and that each person in the relationship still grow and learn and seek out ways to grow and learn.

One of my dear friends and I collaborated to design this tattoo, which we had inked this past weekend.

The verse that makes up the stem, Proverbs 17:17 says: “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”

What does it mean to be “born for adversity?” The first thing that always comes to mind in this scenario is the kiddo who is conceived in order to provide parts/organs for a sibling who is ill. Most commentators that I’ve read interpret this verse to mean that true friends, friends who become family, are those who don’t jump ship when hard things come.

I’m not sure there are many things more difficult or changing than an MBC diagnosis.

These ladies have stuck by me. We have stuck by each other through a whole heck of a lot.

And I am forever grateful.

Published by Abigail Johnston

I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, and I've been living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer since March, 2017. All of the words I publish are my own.

Published

32 thoughts on “Make New Friends, but keep the old”

  7. Love the tats. It’s a way of controlling how our bodies look and we are a walking narrative of our hearts on our sleeves literally. I have a huge Cheshire Cat on my right shoulder – ask me which way to go and I’ll tell you to follow your heart. Forever friends are few and far between posy mbc diagnosis- you’re blessed to have them. All but a few have virtually vanished from my life. One said they just can’t handle watching me die. I said well I don’t know when that will be but it breaks my heart to know you can’t be in it in spite of it. If I go to the east coast this summer he’s definitely going to get a visit. We’ve known each other 35 years and I was there for him during the toughest timed of his life as I had been for all my close friends- so where are they now? Afraid? Try being in our shoes just without the support I thought I could certainly count on. It’s my friends post diagnosis who have given me more love and support than those I’ve known virtually my whole life. Some are gone but I believe my best friend who was like a brother to me who died in my arms at 37 would’ve moved heaven and earth for me and maybe if there’s a heaven he’s busy moving it for me along with my dad who also died with only me by his side. I miss them both terribly- your post got to the soul of the matter. Love you Abigail.

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  9. Pingback: Weekly Round-Up | Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer

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