My dear friend,
I smile as I look at the lovely flowers that you gave me. Three perfect yellow roses that symbolize friendship and bring the same sunshine to my day that you bring to my life. It is a small, thoughtful gift that carries a large, meaningful message.
Oh, we have been through some stuff together, haven’t we? We have been taught some hard, painful lessons along the way. We have discovered that there are people who are not what they appear to be. We have found that some people are, unfortunately, exactly what they appear to be.
Together we have reevaluated and adjusted our purposes in life. We have come to a new understanding of what is important. We no longer give blindly to those who are willing to take limitlessly. We know how much we are willing to give, and we have established our walk away points. We have learned to value our own value.
Through it all there has been you, real and unwavering in who you are. Through work trials, marriage trials, and life trials…always there has been you. Through betrayals, health scares, and changes you have been an anchor and a constant.
You, who took the time to look beneath the surface to find the real me hiding under the bravado. You, who appreciates my inability to sugarcoat things. You, who believes in the best in me even when I am not sure it is there You, who never causes me to question where I stand with you.
I thank you, and I am thankful beyond measure for you. I look forward to our friendship growing old right along with us. To the time when we will be two senior ladies in floppy hats and dark glasses, sitting on the beach, sipping drinks and laughing like we are little girls.
The message is clear. You have been there for me for sixteen years. You are there for me today. You will be there for me tomorrow. And I, my friend, will be the same for you, for today and for all of your tomorrows.
With all my love and gratitude,
Karen
Note to my readers: I believe it is important that we express to our loved ones how much they mean to us before we lose the chance to do so. I have often contemplated writing letters to the people who have a great impact on my life. This is one of those letters. It may be the only one that I publish, but I will write and deliver more. I challenge you to do the same. Write at least one letter to the person who means the most to you. Even if you think they already know, I am sure it will touch them immeasurably. Give love, my friends, always.
This made my eyes fill with tears. You make a good point about letting others know how much they mean to you. I will do that. Thank you for the reminder.
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Aw, please do. It will make for good feelings all the way around!
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I couldn’t agree more. This is a lovely example ❤
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Thank you! 🙂
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Beautiful.
When I write letters to my Mum I always end telling her how much I love her. When I see her, I tell her how much I love her. If I ring (and it is not often under the present circumstances), I tell her how much I love her. I tell Hubby I love him every day at least twice. I tell my brother in NZ I love him when I email or speak to him on the phone. Life is too short to not say the things that matter or wait for the right time. There is no right time. Make it the right time. Always.
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Yes, yes, yes! Make it the right time- perfect!
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I did a piece on Time myself some time ago if you would like to read it:
https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/once-in-a-life-time/
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That is a fantastic and insightful piece! I’m definitely getting to a place where I’d like to slow down the passing of time, yet I’d like to hurry it up to see where I end up! 🙂
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Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it ( I think it is one of my better ones) .
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That is a wonderful letter. How lovely to show your appreciation in such a heart-felt way,
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Thank you. I hope to make sure everyone who matters to me knows just how much they do. It does not feel good to be unappreciated. I know that from experience, so I don’t want to make others feel that way.
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It is a shame that more people aren’t as nice as you are Karen 🙂
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Aw, thanks. I have my good days and my not-so-good days. 😉
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Beautiful post:)
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Thanks so much! 🙂
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A wonderful challenge. Thanks for the suggestion.
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I’m so glad you think so! 🙂
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Wow. The recipient of this will probably cry for days! Beautiful, Karen. Simply beautiful!
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Thank you, she means the world to me. She is a beautiful person.
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YOU are a beautiful person, Karen!
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Beautifully written! Your friendship sounds so strong and special… What a great tribute to your friend!
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Thank you, Lia! You know those friendships that you just know will last a lifetime? This is one of those. 🙂
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I can imagine yours is lifelong since your words were so sincere!
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Very true and inspiring. I will start writing…
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Writing this one has me feeling inspired to do some more, too. I try to always let people know how much they mean to me, but it can’t hurt to put it in writing.
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True
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This is really thoughtful and beautiful. What a lovely gift to your friend.
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Thank you! She is a gift to me. 🙂
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Great thought and advice, Karen. We say it all the time but we take too much for granted, mostly the people we love. We should tell them how we feel more often.
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Thank you, George. I have been on both sides, taken for granted and taking for granted. Neither one is particularly nice.
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Such a lovely way to express your feelings. Sometimes we don’t say it though but by writing a letter like this is great way to show how we truly feel
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Thank you! Hopefully even when we don’t say it we still convey it by our actions, but it doesn’t hurt to put it into words, too! 🙂
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I have begun to write my first letter of gratitude today. Thank you for nudging me into doing something that is so a positive and thoughtful. I believe this post will ripple and bring joy to many people you don’t even know. (poor people -they should be following your blog). Clare
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That is a lovely thought, thank you! If you write one letter that means I’ve accomplished what I’ve wanted to with this blog. 🙂
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