“Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.”

I was reminded of this old Campfire girls song this weekend when spending precious time with one of my very best friends. We were reminiscing and she mentioned we’ve been friends for 20 years. In that time period, she’s lived and traveled all over the world and I’ve stayed busy with raising two kids. And even though our lives are very different, we are bound by our common heritage, our energy backgrounds and work, and our appreciation for spending quality time with each other. Linsi is family.

This led to an interesting conversation between me and Biker about friends. We each still stay in loose touch with a few friends from high school and college, but much more time is spent with friends we’ve accumulated over the past 10 years. These are people we have lots in common with – work, hobbies like motorcycling, and interests like reading. While Biker spends every Sunday with his motorcycle friends, I have a small group of girlfriends that I see mostly individually, having a drink about once a month plus book club once every 6 weeks. This is enough for both of us.

In the end, my circle of close relationships is small and that’s the way I like it.

Although there are many types of friendships, there are common characteristics that bond people together — common backgtounds or interests, similar geographies or occupations, enjoyment of each other’s company, honesty, trust, and the ability to be yourself, express your feelings and make mistakes without fear of judgment.

There is a place for new and old friendships in life. The richness of these bonds make us who we are, provide us solace and laughter, and alter our view of the world.

Seeing my gold friend, Linsi, as always, was such a treat. And I know that next time we see each other, – whether it’ sin a month or six months – we’ll  pick up as if we were together yesterday.