Once upon a time there was a group of girls who were the best of friends. These young ladies all went to the same church and did everything together. They were practically sisters, especially as all but one had no actual biological sisters, just brothers. (Nothing against brothers, it’s just different, that’s all).
A. was the writer, the fairy child, the dreamer. She was also fiercely loyal and a force to be reckoned with. Loved to garden, brilliant dancer and fiddler, and a voracious reader with more books than she had shelf space.
B. was the mother of the group, whether she wanted to be or not. Fantastic cook and home-maker, even from a very young age. Very creative and had a great eye for design, sewing fantastic clothes and costumes. Also a fiddler, playing beautiful duets with A.
C. joined the group when they met in 7th grade. Tall, sort of quiet, and a lover of reading and theater. Only one of the group to attend public/private school growing up. Had a knack for knitting and a beautiful singing voice. Conscience of the group.
E. was the friend that they all loved and missed because she was an Army brat (said lovingly!) Her family lived in the same area as the rest of the girls several times over the years, and the other girls had the chance to visit her in her various locations. Tallest of the group, passionate, strong, musician, and beautiful ballerina.
H. was the smallest of the group. Lover of dance, theater, and music, and a talented singer. Sweet and sassy. Very caring in nature, always lending a listening ear to those in trouble. Tended to be the clown of the group, but in a subtle way that always made her friends laugh.
These girls always promised to stick together. And for a long while it seemed as if they would keep their promise.
Then one day when the girls were in high school they had a get-together and B’s house. All of the mothers were there as well, along with their Bible study small group leader. They had a great time doing crafts and hanging out. Then B’s mom said something along the lines of “This is the end of an era – treasure these times together, because soon you’ll all go off in different directions and lose contact with each other.”
This bothered H. and her mother. “Why does that have to be?” H’s mother later said. She went on to say that childhood friendships don’t necessarily need to fall apart when you get older, you just need to make those friendships a priority in your life. Everyone gets busy and follows different pursuits as they get older, but if you so choose, childhood friendships can remain strong as long if you try.
But sure enough, these girls eventually began to lose contact. They went off to college and university, and slowly the phone calls and emails stopped. Some of them stayed in contact with one or two girls in the group, but B’s mom was right… it was the end of an era, perhaps brought about by a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.
A Special Strength 