Dear childhood friend: I miss you.
We used to talk for hours on the phone. Remember twirling the cord around your finger as you lay on your belly across the bed while we chatted and giggled? Remember late night conversations about dreams and boy problems and broken hearts and sleepovers and divorces and remarriages? Remember trips to the convenience store for candy, and swimming in the city pool similar to the ones you find at the fibreglass pools Ballarat catalog, and riding bikes and trick-or-treating and braiding each other’s hair?
We grew older and got married and had kids, and we would get together after months or years apart, and pick up right where we left off. There was never any inhibition in our conversation; we could share anything with each other. We talked about women’s rights and government and politics. We talked about the struggles of motherhood, the challenges of marriage, and the frustration of balancing work and home. We had differing views on a multitude of issues, but didn’t really care. We just knew we loved each other, we were soul sisters, and our bond went much deeper than what we believed about the world.
I miss you.
Social media, a tool meant to bring people from all over the world together, has ironically created a cataclysmic separation between the best of friends. It has opened the floodgates of conversation, while stifling true connection. It has, like a tornado of destruction, dismantled relationships while sucking people in like a horrific black hole.
This election has magnified the adverse affects of social media more than I ever could have imagined. While I spoke my own truth, you spoke yours. We felt threatened by each other instead of feeling emboldened by each other. We slowly but surely created a wedge of separation between the two of us. And not only that, but we picked teams. I want her, I don’t want him. We chose who we believed was on our side, and huddled together to strategize. We stood on the sidelines and cheered when our team was right. And we shouted loudly, mocking each other from the bleachers when the opposing team made a fumble.
Friend, I still adore you.
I still see you as an amazing woman who is passionate and kind and who cares profoundly about humankind. I believe the best about you, and while we may disagree heavily on politics and/or religion, to me you are still a treasured daughter of God who He loves and desires relationship with, which makes me desire relationship with you as well.
And most of all, I miss you.
But can we push pause and rewind? Can we remember back to when we laughed and giggled and cried with each other, and treasure those moments as what our relationship really is? Can we rise above our differences and see each other for the innocent little girls that we once were? Can we look at each other as spiritual souls instead of political enemies?
Circle Y E S or N O. ❤️
Do you have a friend you’re missing? Share this with them!
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