Old Friends

This past June we celebrated our wedding anniversary. We didn’t do too much since we were gearing up for our move, actually we were right in the process of moving and it was also the last week of school for the children. Once we got to our new home, and were a bit settled in, my husband did something very sentimental that we hadn’t done in about 17 years. He cued up our wedding video on the VCR, and we all watched it. How young and happy we all looked! How bittersweet to see our dear loved ones that have since died. Our kids were delighted to see it. This got me thinking about our old friends who were such an important part of our big day, and our lives then. I was able to find a few that I had lost track of, and sent an email to the ones I haven’t contacted in a long while. The wonders of googling and yellow pages dot com, because I was able to track them down without much trouble. I love and miss them and this poem is for them:

New Friends and Old Friends
by Joseph Parry

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test -
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast -
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.

For those that have left this life, Daddy, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Teresa and Johnny you remain, forever to stay gold in our hearts.