Diane and Lisa...

[fajrdrako]

From Livejournal's Writer's Block: Who is your oldest friend (i.e., the friend you have known the longest)? How often do you see or talk to each other? Do your close friends tend to stay the same year after year or change over time?

My oldest friend is Diane, who lived down the street from me from the time we were both born, about six months apart. I didn't get to know her well till we were both nine or ten; through high school we were inseparable, referred to each other as Siamese twins¹, and were thought by teachers and acquaintances to be sisters. We didn't have a lot in common except total compatibility: she was from a Francophone family, while my family was Anglophone; I loved to read, she liked television; we only once were in the same class in school. When were were in our early twenties, she married and I went to study in England. That was a geographical separation, but it didn't change the friendship.

In recent years, we've seen less of each other: busy lives, different interests, though we are still interested in each other's lives. We're having dinner together on Tuesday.

Then there's Lisa. I met her at summer camp when we were nine. Just a week ago she filled out a passport application and cited me as a reference she has known for 48 years. Woo. When young, we lived in different cities, but visited each other often; travelled together to France and Italy, as well as the Maritimes; she now has two daughters in their early teens and lives in Ottawa. We try to meet to go for a walk together every week or two, but it's hard for both of us to find the time. We encourage each other in our self-help projects, and talk to each other when we need to vent.

My close friends tend to stay the same over time, though there's some change. People fall out of touch, or die, or other things happen that end the friendship. There are some people I seldom see, yet feel close to, and when I see them, it's as if no time has gone by at all.

¹ Back then, it was okay to say that.