The Importance of Friendship: Why Friends Matter

There is a song in scout summer camp videos about friendship.  I don't know the name of the song but it's causes me to tear up.  There is one line "friends are friends forever" that really gets me.😭

Thanks to the power of the internet and social media, I am can maintain friendships with friends from my hometown of Ashland, Ohio. A couple of my girlfriends from Ashland visited my Mom while she was alive. One of my friends went to my Mom's house to check on her and stayed there while I called the Ashland police for a well-check. These friends stopped in while Jon & I cleaned out my childhood home so it could be auctioned after my Mom passed.  We share our struggles on social media and pray for each other even when we cannot physically be together.

I also have friendships with people from college as well as friends I made during my mission trip to Haiti.  I have made friends with people in AA as well as my gym, Steadfast/CrossFit Plain City.

There are also friends who have come and gone. Unfortunately, some have passed away.  Some have moved away and we lost touch.  Other friendships must not have been God's Will for my life.  

While I am still friends with people I knew before I got sober and we stay in touch online, we are not getting together like we used to.  A big reason for that is that we stopped hosting parties at our house after I got sober.  One part of our basement had been a "man cave" with a projection screen and a full kitchen.  During the pandemic, my husband finally built the bathroom that our friends wished had existed during those parties were a lot of adult beverages were consumed.  Despite my excessive drinking during that time of my life, I'm grateful that I do have memories of those parties that we hosted. 

Hosting parties did not entirely end because of my sobriety.  All of our lives have changed.  The girls that babysat our son Jon III went to school and now have their own families/lives.  My husband and son gradually became more active in scouts as our son got older and are frequently at scout events on the weekends.  I admitted my powerlessness over alcohol and began AA in 2015.  

Sober people do not sit at home like hermits.  I've been blessed to meet so many wonderful people in my sobriety journey through meetings as well as social gatherings.  Oftentimes, my family was invited to parties.  My son didn't want to hang out with "old people" but my husband has attended parties with me.  I remember at one of the parties that Jon admitted being stumped on what to buy me for Mother's Day because he usually went to the Anderson's and bought a case of wine. 😉 Worry not, Jon has figured out gift giving with my sobriety.  

A group of my sober friends came to my son's Eagle Scout Court of Honor.  I remember my friend Gary shaking my son's hand after the ceremony saying that he thought Boy Scouts only walked little old ladies across the street.  My sponsor attend Jon III's Confirmation ceremony.

I cannot forget to talk about my CrossFit friends!  We support each other through tough workouts with the community showing up during the CrossFit Open and Murph.  Some of us have the same reason for doing CrossFit - so we can remain mobile for as long as possible so our children don't have to take care of us or put us into a nursing home.  We celebrate PRs.  We experience DNFs (Did Not Finish) and remind ourselves that we worked hard even if we did not finish the entire workout. 

Friendship plays a vital role in our lives. Friends provide support, joy, and a sense of belonging. They help us navigate challenges and celebrate our successes. The bonds we create with friends shape who we are and enhance our well-being. Remember to cherish and nurture these important relationships. Take a moment to reach out to a friend today and show them how much they matter.

Resources:

Grateful Living - Ram Dass image

YouVersion - Scripture Image

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