Friends

11-5-15

Friends

I mostly travel down Old Leeds Road on my way to work every day. Not long after I hit Old Leeds, depending on how late I’m running, I generally always see two older gentleman who are paused at the top of a street and are talking. I believe what must be happening is that they both start out on their morning walk, at some point meet up and walk together for a portion and where I usually see them is the point at which they depart to go their separate ways again. The following are thoughts or observations I’ve had in the almost five years that I’ve watched this occur- in no particular order:

1.      It’s important to exercise and walking is one of the best and cheapest way to do that.
2.      The more you do something, the more likely it is that you’ll continue to do it.
3.      Get important stuff done as early in the day as you can so you’ll automatically eliminate “tired” as an excuse not to do it.
4.      It is alright to start your journey alone.
5.      It is more fun to have a friend along the same journey.
6.      It is alright if, at some point, you have to venture on alone again.
7.      Friendship should be a life priority.
8.      Consistency in nurturing friendship, as in most things, is key.
9.      Even if you probably don’t have anything earth-shattering to talk about, because it's important, you should talk anyway.
10.   Once you find a true friend, don’t take them for granted. They will probably always be there. It's up to both of you to figure out how that's going to work in the real world. 

There have been some days when I've just seen one of the men walking. I always wonder for a moment, "Uh-oh. I hope everything is good with Man2." I am always relieved when I see them both the next day or so. I hope I keep seeing them for a real good long time. It's the way it should be.