Julie Noted

…… it is our responsibility to learn what they have to teach us.

I have often said that the positive in having Cameron in our lives are the fantastic people we have met and if it wasn’t for Cam we wouldn’t know these people exist. By the same token some people have moved on in different directions and I hope we have learnt what we needed to from those people. Most we are still in contact with even if it is not as often as it used to be. Others we don’t have contact with, maybe because that is how it must be. A lesson has been learnt (sometimes the hard way) and we have learnt that not everyone is as good-natured or has such good intentions as we would like to think. A friendship should never be taken for granted. It should be nurtured for it is a special bond that should be cherished and we never quite know when it will be in full bloom.

Sometimes we lose touch with people, friends who were a big part of our lives but things change, we all have stuff going on and life moves on. Then a chance meeting in M&S and one thing leads to another. It may take a while but the next thing you know you are back in each others lives regularly and you know it’s meant to be when it’s like you’ve never been apart, your friendship has grown over the years, as you both have and it’s one of the most solid things in your life. When you see the word friend – that’s the person you think of.

I pride myself that I have many good friends and love it when I meet up with old friends, I haven’t seen for years and it’s like you never lost touch. I first noticed this with Ollie & his friend Rory. They can go a year without seeing each other (the Atlantic Ocean is mostly to blame for that!) but when they meet up they chat like they were at school/work together the week before. And over the last 13 years it’s always been the same. I love it! It all started when they met on holiday and ever since have been credited with founding a fabulous institution of friendship. Both families are now close friends and I once mentioned that if it wasn’t for Cameron we would not have been on that holiday at that time and they & us may have never met. Our friend said I have a feeling that we would have met somewhere, somehow. You know what I think I agree. It was meant to be.

There’s been more mileage than usual in maintaining this friendship and we have met up in some amazing places. We have all learnt many things from each other – including we love to travel, we like shopping more than them, they can travel with less luggage than the McCulloch’s (except Ollie!) and we all love various & sometimes numerous alcoholic beverages.

Then, there are really amazing people who just get you without even really knowing you. This may be a contradiction but sometimes people just get you. Maybe this is just the beginning of what will be a beautiful friendship however brief it turns out to be. Although with the invention of social networking sites it makes it easier to stay in touch and with our impending redundancies I am glad Facebook is in my life, hopefully it will be easier than my last big ‘leaving do’ – leaving Cornwall 30 years ago and then having to wait for the technology to be invented for me to find my old school mates!

There are lessons to be learnt everywhere we look but sometimes we are just too busy to notice.