The reason I have titled today’s blog “Friends Are Always Friends,” is because we all have friends that we have become close to throughout our life. Many friends we have lost touch with, many we had an argument and went our separate ways (only to continue to think of them and wish them the best), sometimes friends move away from one another and lose contact, sometimes life changes directions and friends vanish. There are many reasons why friends lose the closeness they once had. This is called life. Friends sadly come and go, but should always hold a special place in our heart.

Today I am going to a memorial for a girlfriend I met working at Providence emergency department over 13 years ago. She was so incredibly sweet and had a “let’s get er’ done” attitude. I not only loved working with her, but she became a very close friend of mine. Amy was one of those friends that I lost touch with, I had many disagreements with (that’s what friends do), we traveled out of state, danced the night away, went to concerts, got matching tattoos, and then I moved out of state and we only kept in touch through Facebook, but…she was always in my heart.

I remember being at Amy’s house one day and she gave me this beautiful black vase that had a white swirl in it. Most of us end up throwing away vases sooner or later. I have thrown away all of my vases except for the one Amy gave me. I think she gave it to me about 10-plus years ago. The reason I bring this vase up is because for some reason that vase always made me smile. I have used it in two of my offices with wall stickers coming out of it with “make a wish dandelions and butterflies” , same stickers in both offices on different ends of the state. The picture I have doesn’t show it real well, but I think it’s true friendship when you have a piece of them with you all the time, not to mention the “Strength” tattoos we shared.

I have friends who I don’t keep in great contact with, but when I do happen to stumble upon them again, it’s like we just saw one another the prior day. Sadly, life gets busy, we change jobs, move away, and we lose contact, but we don’t lose the amazing memories.

I have had three other friends pass away the last year and a half, one of them I went to high school with and although we weren’t close in high school, we became very close 9 years before her passing. I have kept all our facebook messages because they make me smile at how happy she was becoming. She use to call me “kid” lol. We would have coffee together a lot and just talk about life. She passed in her sleep, but in my heart, I know she was feeling truly blessed with the way her life was going and she had a deep love for her family. When I drive in the snow I think of my friend Joanne who tried to teach me to drive in it, when I eat asparagus I smile at a friend who loved to make me grilled asparagus, he even use to send me pictures of it when he was eating it…lol

Today’s blog is full of happy memories. I want everyone to remember great things about their friends who have come and gone (but not forgotten) in their life. We never know when our last breath will be and our heart will always hurt when we find out someone we loved so dearly has taken their last breath. I have learned to embrace all the beautiful memories shared with these friends who have passed on too soon.

Friends will always be friends. We are truly blessed to have such great friends who have touched our lives in a beautiful way. Cherish those memories, pictures, notes, emails, and messages. Life is hard, but friends are forever regardless how often you see or speak to them. Here’s to all our friends who have passed away, but left us with such beautiful memories.

Trust the Journey and Life Lessons,

Alexis