"Make new friends but keep the old ..."

I have many wonderful 'new' friends and I treasure them all. ‘Old' friends, however, are truly extra-special for so many reasons. At the top of the list would be that, no matter how much time has gone by, getting together with an old friend feels like we saw each other just yesterday. I'm sure that you know that feeling. It’s what defines a 'comfortable' and lasting friendship. No pretences. You like each other just the way you are, warts and all.

My friend Irene is definitely an old friend and a "keeper". We met over 35 years ago, in a bowling alley in Queens, and we've been fast-friend ever since. I’ve shared many laughs, tears and warm occasions with Irene, her husband Bill and their daughters Patti and Jean and their families over the years. They are all genuinely caring, loving people.

This past weekend Mike and I visited Irene and Bill to celebrate Irene’s birthday and to, sadly, spend a final night in their lovely 1902’s home in Little Neck. After 33 years they are downsizing and moving to Levittown to be closer to Patti and her family. I will miss sleeping in ‘my’ bedroom and the continuation of late-night conversations at the kitchen island with Irene as we enjoyed drinks and coffee cake, (Yes, it’s a strange combo but it’s always worked for us!) I’m hopeful that we’ll find a comfy ‘chatting spot’ in the new kitchen.

On Sunday we had brunch with another ‘old’ friend, Bob Schiff. Irene worked in Bob’s dental practice in Long Island City before she obtained her degree and began her career running the Child Development centers for the US Army at Ft. Hamilton. Bob is such a colorful character! At 87 he has more energy than most young people and he always has fascinating stories about the neighborhoods that he visits as he takes tourists on ‘Big Apple’ tours of the City. I aspire to be like Bob when I retire!

We ended our Long Island visit with a trip to H-Mart, a fantastic Asian market that defies description. This store has every fruit, vegetable, fresh fish, fresh meat – you name it. Actually, you probably can’t name it because most of the items in the store are labeled in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Japanese etc. I love living in the country but, boy, wouldn’t it be great to have a market that offered 20 varieties of Nori wrappers and 5 kinds of fresh sardines?!

Driving back to Connecticut I day-dreamed and reminisced about some of the best visits my ‘old’ friends and I have shared. I couldn’t help but smile. They are definitely keepers.