It struck me this morning in the middle of my 7th week of quarantine that what is getting me down these days is the lack of real contact with friends. Yes, there's Facebook and email and Messenger and the phone, but there's no hugging, no coffees or lunches together, no singing together, no long conversations marked by laughter or tears, no cooking for guests, none of the deep normal pleasures of friendships both longtime and new.
As an extrovert with introvert tendencies, I can attest that I love the quietness, the solitude, the time to work on projects uninterrupted, the occasional sit-down at a distance with somebody equally wary about safe distance. All these are important parts of my quarantined life and I am grateful.
But since I retired, I've had the chance to meet new friends, friends I'm not professionally connected to, friends who bring newness into my life, friends to sing with, to let down my hair with, to allow to know me more deeply than most others, to be my real self with, not the professional persona of ministry.
These (mostly women) friends have been the greatest gifts of retirement for me and I have loved the time spent with them over a glass of wine or cup of coffee, a meal, a jam session, a walk, a conversation that frequently erupted into gales of laughter, a chance to hug and be hugged, a sense of being nourished by a friendship. Not joined at the hip but ready to meet and replenish the wells of responsible living that are easily drained down by our obligations.
Most of my friendships seem to be online or on-phone these days and I am longing for the day when I can see friends face to face, hug them, laugh with them out loud instead of with emojis. I'm not planning to resist the rest of the quarantine but I sure will celebrate it when it comes.
Friends are clearly a lifeline for me, especially with family members far away. This experience has made me so aware of my friendships and how important they are. I am grateful.
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