9 Jan 2010

FRIENDSHIP NEVER GETS RUSTY

I don't know why the general opinion about friendship says, that only men entertain real friendship and not women, because each woman sees a competitor in the other one. I don't share this opinion at all, because I know so many longlasting friendships between women much more than between men. It also all depends if it involves a woman or a female. Females need men and don't like women.

I met my oldest friend in 1951 in Bonn (Germany) when we were 8 years old. She lived next door and was very interesting for me because she had a baby sister of 2 and a new born baby brother ! She was very happy when I asked her mother if I could walk little baby sister, that way she was free and could play with the others and I was proud to push the pram.

I always played with her at her place and never at mine, because her parents were very warm hearted and friendly people and with 3 children in the little flat there was always a cosy chaos, not like in our flat, where my mother was busy with cleaning 24 h per day and no room for children to play.

When both our fathers were sent to Brussels to work for the Commun Market (today the European Union) we were neighbours again. She lived two houses down the street from ours. We both went to the German school although not in the same class. When she had finished school, she went back to Germany for her studies. I remained in Brussels, but we always kept contact. We married, had children, at least she had 3 I only one, but also this did not harm our friendship, at least once a year we called each other or we wrote letters.

Meanwhile she is a proud Grandma of 4 grandsons, the eldest one is already 22 ! How time flies by. On tuesday we talked together on the phone and she asked me to come over, she was in Holland in their holiday home and this is only 150 km (93 miles) away from Waterloo. It's a beautiful area at the sea. Next day I jumped in my car and arrived in Kamperland at 11.30 where she and her husband just had a brunch. I joined in and we chatted and chatted and chatted, the hubby tried to place a word, gave up after a while and suggested a walk in the sunshine along the beach. That's what we did, but we continued with our tongue gymnastic and talked and talked and talked. Finally he asked us to drop him off at home because he wanted to place a cable and my friend wanted to show me a little pictoresque town nearby.

In the evening we shared so many souvenirs and laughed and laughed when we remembered that once we walked her little brother in his pram and he was snoring so much. Two neighbour boys (older than us) told us to close his nose and mouth then he would stop snoring, and we did !!! poor baby almost suffocated ! and then later we were teenagers and had the first boys standing in range.

We never ran out of subjects and when I left the next day we still hadn't talked enough ! But there soon will be another occasion.









My friend Gisela and I



and so we looked in 1954, listening to music



and in 1956 when we went to Austria together with our parents

12 comments:

  1. I agree with you -- friends are so important. You were my last blog to read of the day (W is at the end of my bloglines)

    It was the best place to stop. Gave me a nice warm buzz to drift off to sleep. AND IT REMINDED ME that today is my life long friends birthday -- and now it is too late to call her.

    First thing in the morning I will.

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  2. What an exciting visit. I can imagine the talk fest. Lovely photos of present and past. It still looked cold on the beach but at least sunny.

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  3. I wish I had maintained contact with my elementary school mates or childhood friends. I don't know where they are now as I have moved house 7 times.

    It's good to have a lifelong friend and it is not easy to maintain that long friendship. Glad to have you as a blog friend. *hugs*

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  4. WOW...49 years...WOOT!!! It's no wonder they call you Madame Chat ROFLMAO!!! Her poor husband and you two LOL Instead of the beach I would have suggested the drug store for ear plugs ROFLMAO!! You just crack me up. And what two cuties you were and still are. How fun Gattina. It's so wonderful to maintain a friendship but one for that long is just totally the bomb!!!! :)

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  5. What a wonderful friendship, Gattina. I agree with you...women can be friends...I have a couple of friends that I been close to for over 20 years. We may not keep in close touch but when we do, it's just like we'd seen each other yesterday. We just pick up where we left off.

    I'm glad you had such a lovely time with your friend...and I can imagine the talking that went on!

    BTW Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are playing each other in the Brisbane International tomorrow. Should be a terrific match.

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  6. I agree with you! It's so nice to have a good friend that you know so well and feel comfortable to talk with about anything at all. With a close friend like that you can just talk on and on! I loved seeing those pictures of the two of you in your younger days!

    The beach looks cold but very pretty!

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  7. I know lots of women who have life long friendships, and men too.

    My sister's best friend is from Trinidad and is of Indian descent, her ancestors having been shanghaied from India. My sister, who has never gone out in the sun to tan,always seems stange alongside her dark brown friend. They just go back to University days but it is a lovely friendship.

    My best friend goes back to first Grade. He is an American of German ancestry (with a last name like Grebeldinger could he be anything else) We have not spoken often for long periods of time but what makes it a real friendship is that when we do get together we offer no excuses and pick up where we left off. I see him now more than I have for many years.

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  8. LOL! Now I don't know what I am! I am not a woman -- I have NO friends dating back that far! (I'm not a stay-in-toucher) ... But I am certainly not a FEMALE either! Wow... my body parts say otherwise... but I guess not! I don't NEED men! Hmmm... I'll let YOU define me ... there must be a word out there!

    I think it is wONderful that you have a friend still from childhood. I have several friends who DO have friends going back that far. I just don't. I don't even have any that I'm really curious as to what became of them. I'm MUCH happier with my recent friends -- and of course, my blogging friends! And maybe these will become my dear OLD friends one day!

    This was a delightful post Gattina! I enjoyed seeing you two together - then and now! And I can easily imagine her hubby not getting a word in at all!

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  9. How wonderful! You know on Tuesday I will celebrate 9 years of friendship with my Uschi. She is really like a sister to me now. Anyway, on Tuesday I will have a montage up of our pictures.
    I love that women seem to have such good forever friends.

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  10. My girlfriends are a very important part of my life...I just did a blog about our last meeting. We go back 40 years and my one girlfriend I have known my entire life...63 years. We all know we have something special and try to meet at least a few times a year. Sounds like you had a great reuion with your friend.

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  11. Oh yes, meeting up with 'old' friends makes you feel real good. Remembered the special meeting (few years ago) the first time with my classmates (from elementary and separated after high school) after 38 years. There were almost 40 of us and lived all over the world. We screamed more than we ate. We were moving from table to table or chair to chair rather than sitting down. I am looking forward to next year, the schedule big gathering again. The only sad thing was some of our classmates had passed away.

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  12. Oh what a visit! Isn't it funny how good friends can be away from each other long times and yet catch up where they were when leaving each other?

    Oh, pleeeez don't show me beaches right now.... *deep sigh*

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