Hey little stranger????

"Friends are God's ways of apologizing for our families."

- Anonymous

The planning started a week ago - the letters were sent out, RSVPs collected, the menu planned, the house and the patio cleaned and scrubbed, arrangements made to oust the little brat of a brother out of the house while the dignitaries were visiting.......allright, what was the occasion??

Voila......my seven year old had three of her friends visiting her for a playdate over the weekend. She was speaking non-stop of the weekend and when the day dawned, she could hardly stand still. Since I had been away, she hardly had her friends around to our place and hence the much awaited occasion meant more than the usual to her. The screams of joy that started (and was reciprocated) when she spotted her friends on the driveway never stopped till they left a couple of hours later.

My daughter is normally a very quiet and content child, I have hardly seen her exuberent, maybe because my son, with his non-stop chatter and incessant demands usually eclipses her at home. At school, our parent-teachers meetings are usually short and uneventful - teachers hardly have anything to talk about her as she is a very smart kid and once they go "she is awesome, very respectful, bright and intelligent"......both parties usually end up with having little to discuss, and definitely not much to gain an insight on the kind of personality she is. I always introduce her as "she is 7 but going on 70"......her maturity and sensitivity astounding us at times and even though I longed for the child in her to surface at times, I have almost started to believe this is how she is.

So it definitely came as big surprise to us when we spotted this entirely transformed little gal in front of us. She was for once behaving her age and having so much fun that it was a delightful experience to stand by her and watch her, full of life and mirth. I remember questioning her best buddy if she was like that at school......and she goes "yeah, can't remember her being any other way".....the careless reply still brings a smile to my face, however slightly tinged with sadness. It takes friends and not family to bring out the real "her" in her......I smile at the irony that my daughter is a "chip of the old block" :))

Friends - how could anyone underestimate the richness that relationship brings to one's life? Being an only kid - I had no siblings or relatives to turn to while growing up. My friends were the ones who always stood by me and till today, they are the ones I turn to first rather than my own parents for the simple reason that I find it easier to talk to them than my own family. Friendship was the safe haven where I could be myself.......where despite my failings, I had people who could cut me slack and appreciate me for what I was.

Lately events had happened where it made me question the emotional investment and energy I put into friendships. I was about to "let go" a very good friend of mine because I let other inconsequential happenings cloud my judgement and make me forget the true essence of that friendship, but this very simple incident over the weekend has made me miss my own circle of friends - the family I had chosen and created for myself.

This morning, I am glad I made the much needed phone call to salvage that friendship........the week has begun on a high note !!!!