Pesky school played that trick on me again. Son is all set up for the next school at home lesson. THEN at the start of the lesson the teacher asks for work to be done which requires a plasticine model to be made. As we don’t have a fully functioning stationary and supplies cupboard, an urgent search of draws and boxes took place. Eventually a large ball of old Blu Tack was found. That will just have to do.

But in one of the boxes we searched was another find. A much more rewarding discovery. A laminated photo of our Son from his time at nursery. It was used as a name badge for his coat peg. I had completely forgotten about this. Suddenly all the memories start to flood back.

How things have changed….

Looking back at nursery he had about 10 really close friends. Friends he would spend so much time with. Over time families moved, kids went to separate schools and friendships faded. Currently only one of the nursery gang go to his school but they are in different sets. Even that friendship has grown apart. They will still wave and smile if they bump into each other but that is it.

It’s the same for the parents. Each one of those nursery friendships yielded a parenting bond. Family meet ups, barbecues, day trips out and close adult friendships. Those are now gone as well. Even with the one nursery girl still at his school, we have grown apart. Not spoken to the parents in two years. Just a few years back I would go cycling with the Dad and went running each week with the mum. Now it’s down to the occasional wave as we pass each other on a car journey.

Now looking at this old photo I am reminded of old friendships. Friendships which have been lost just like that photo was in an old box. It’s a reminder that the world moves on. Things change. Sometimes change goes against your well thought out plans and sadly sometimes change is not always for the better.

But then you look at that cheeky face in the photo and it’s impossible to be too downhearted for long.

62 thoughts on “Friendships”

  1. I never bother to get too close to the other parentals, I know how friendships end for me and my mood disorder.

    I still have the pic the Pre-K teacher took of me and Spook for her cubby back when she liked pink and chicken nuggets were her favorite food and Dora was her favorite show. Oh, the years fly by even if they don’t feel like it when dealing with home schooling and the lot.

    I am glad you got a pleasant stroll down memory lane. We could all use that from time to time. As much as it is our job to raise our kids and let them grow older and flourish…you can’t help but want to cling to those more innocent years before the eye rolling ‘you’re so embarrassing’ times. 😉

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  2. To be honest, with this lockdown, we’ve lost touch a bit with the families we’ve been getting to know through our daughter. Hopefully we’ll reconnect soon! Well done for the improvisation with the blue tac! 😀

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  5. The preschool/nursery school days were fun, the teen years were dramatic, now my daughters are my best friends.
    I raised two intelligent, strong, caring women and they make me proud every day! I still have haven’t figured out why they want to hang out with me??

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  6. He’s so beautiful. It would be lovely to see what he looks like now, but it might not go down well with him if you were to post a recent photo. ☺

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  7. I think about this a lot. We have maintained friendships with a few of the parents but they are certainly not as close as once was. Maybe a text here and there or a group night out was planned (BC). I think friendships formed through kids are really important for that time period. We all need the support. Like you say, things change and that support is needed less maybe. That photo of your son is just delightful 😁😁😁

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  10. What a cutie! Bob and I were talking about this same thing recently – how our friends have changed from 10 years ago, to 5 years ago. It was the same for us. When our kids stopped hanging around with certain other kids, the parents did the same. But still fun to look back and remember – the friendships and our kid’s cute little faces 🙂

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  11. I guess some things endure. The things are the most important.
    PS
    Cannot get my head round the stupidity of whoever made that home lesson up. Do they have any idea of how hard it is to get your hands on things right. now. Just cos bog roll is back on the shelves it sure does not mean everything is.

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      3. Me neither, I was never into making fluffy dogs out of washing up, liquid bottles. Just see my mam’s face if I’d even suggested cluttering the house with that junk.

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  12. An interesting and provocative post Gary – friendship is a somewhat volatile topic for me – l get it logically, l don’t always understand all the emotions especially with ‘real life’ – friends always expect things at times you can’t deliver. True friendships will last lockdown or not, those that don’t were n’t worth saving l guess. I don’t carry friendships and especially if they formation with the 6 … is Son not the same? It does seem to be a very Aspergian trait.

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      1. There were never many photos of me a a child, loads of my sister, but they outnumbered mine by about 10 to one. There was a photo of me as a baby on Mum’s piano. I have no idea what happened to that after she died. I would have liked it.

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  15. I don’t mind friendships passing through… I was kinda trained to accept cause we moved all the time? So is familiar to me… I see it different…

    I don’t see it sad, those people and moments graced your life for a minute… I love those memories of different people… and I like to think about what they brought to my life, how we laughed, etc

    Yeah I miss some – but I love the memories I took.

    Was a moment in life, life changes all the time… some stay some don’t…

    I kinda think of it like stars?? … some stay in your sky and light it up… others are just shooting stars… they pass through and leave their memories good or bad.

    Everything is a moment in time? Even the ones I got attached to, but moved away from… they enhanced my life for a moment ❤️

    Yeah I miss people, but I do love their memories too… so I don’t think sadly when I think of people who used to be in my life – most of them I really enjoyed. Have wonderful memories

    I also keep many I love … on my Facebook … that’s all my family and friends … I don’t have too many – under 100 I think? I don’t just keep anyone there – but that’s how I keep them? Or did… I am not using Facebook currently. They are not happy with me lol ✌️

    But I keep them there to always have them, I used to speak to them all a lot ❤️

    I even have my very first best friend on there… from when I was 4!! 😮 lol

    I keep my special ones there. ❤️ the rest can pass through… they leave good memories too

    And sounds like you had amazing memories – take those and then make new ones – there are new stars all the time… make new memories. It’s all moments in time.

    Have you ever seen the movie “Big Fish”? Life reminds me of that movie ❤️ I love that movie for so many reasons!! You must follow the movie or you will be lost at the end. But yeah that reminds me of how life is? Cool movie

    Hope your stars shine 🌟 bright! ✌️

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  16. Yes, things change but they can lead to better things. Looking back it may not feel this way, but you can’t see what’s up ahead yet. Cute photos do help banish those backglancing blues. ☺

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  17. Friendships fill needs at particular times. Sometimes, the need isn’t there. When Facebook first appeared, it was exciting to find all those folks I hadn’t seen in years and were once friends with. After reading some of their posts or noticing some of their behaviors, I was glad I didn’t know them anymore.

    I’ve lost friend from moving around too much. I don’t have any children so meeting other parents has never been a part of my life.

    Souls come and go from your life. You have over 3,500 followers. Though none of us are sitting in your kitchen, watching you f*** up a loaf of bread, we still get to share your life…even at a distance. You have more friends than you know.

    Love his pretty blue eyes.

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  18. Friendships are important, but people do grow apart, for many reasons. Still, it makes me sad to lose friends. I like people but have always only had one or two close friends and when I lose them I grieve. But, such is life. That pic of your little guy is so precious!

    You are so resourceful. I think the teacher could have given you more of a heads up on what would be needed for the lesson though. Is plasticine the same as play dough? Just asking because there are many really great home made recipes for play dough. I used to make it for mine when they were small and it works great – stuffed into plastic baggies it lasts for months.

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  19. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…”

    I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit as I work through grief. I don’t always necessarily feel “better,” but I do have more clarity… most of the time. 😉

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  20. Friendships go through so many strange changes, to be sure. There are classmates of mine from school that I see on Facebook, sure, but I’ve not spoken to in years. There’s no malice in the lack of contact; if one of us spurred a gathering, I’m sure the other’d be happy to join. But life does just seem to keep us working apart–well, there’s a pandemic now, but still–I think we’re just all trying to get through the pages of this current chapter so we can find out what’s next in our stories. Keep smiling, Friend, and keep hoping! xxxxx

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    1. All we can do is make the best of the hand we have been dealt. We might be in different countries but we are both now used to dealing with hands containing distinctly average or poor cards. So we will both keep smiling, keep hoping and keep doing our best. xxxxxxx

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  21. I was thinking about looking up some old friends. Didn’t in the end. But I did have a thought that made me laugh. At present Facebook is the best way of making contact with friends. Will come a time when a seance will make more sense. But until then let’s grasp hope. Keep smiling xxxxxxx

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