I'm Glad too..

I went out with a friend the other night for dinner. We talked, laughed, joked, and talked a lot about life.. or rather……laughed a lot about life. It felt just like old times all over again. After we all left school, we continued keeping in touch but it was inevitable that we grew apart. We were both embarking on different journeys in life. But at least, even if it was just talking or meeting once or twice a year, we maintained a lot of goodwill and never severed ties.

Which was something I was really glad about that night, because 8 years on since we first became best of friends, I realized that its so SO so hard to find people you can actually talk, related and click with… for me at least. No doubt a lot of people end up becoming your friends and you love them dearly, but once in a blue moon, someone special comes along your way…. someone you just simply seem to able to connect with on a whole different level.

I considered him one of those people. We were different as day and night; he’s fashionable, I’m not; he’s flamboyant, I’m low key; he’s Muslim, I’m Christian….. the list goes on and one. But one thing my friend has – an open mind, and a passion for life. And perhaps those are the two things that have made us click. He talks to me about how he can’t get along with the ‘chinese ed’ colleagues he has and yet gets along marvellously with me. I told him its because A. I’m not Chinese Educated.. and B. Unlike them, I actually have personally. He rolls his eyes, and I just laughed. We always understood each others humour, which was another great thing.

After dropping him off, I took a slow drive around the neighbourhood. He still lived in the place we spend our high school years. But so many people have moved on. I still remembered where everyone’s house was by heart….but so few them were actually still there. There was once my father said to him, me and another friend that most of the friends we know today will all drift apart from each other eventually. At 50, he no longer kept in touch with any of his former friends. But he suggested to us that if we worked at it enough, perhaps we could be lifelong friends.

I related this memory to him, which he vaguely remembered too.

“Well… I’m glad you and I are still friends.” He told me. The 3rd friend had faded away completely over the years.

Earlier in the week, my brother was talking to me about this thing he read about how in generally, most people have 6 important people in their lives; people who either have influenced them greatly, played a big part in their lives, shaped the way they live or think, impacted their lives in some significant way or something like that…..

Six….

I started counting mine…. and surprisingly, it wasn’t too far off.

This particular friend…. He taught me how to laugh… and how to have a sense of humour.

And in my heart I had to say

“I’m glad too…..”