Good friends are like stars; you don't always see them but you know they are there

We all have them.  Some have more than others.  Not to be confused though with the three hundred plus "friends" some have on their Facebook account.  I mean real friends.  Those who will be there for you no matter what.

I'm lucky.  I have many such friends.  I even share my home with one.  Another saved my life once.  I call on my friends support more than they do on mine, which makes me feel guilty at times.   I can be myself around them.  They'll laugh with me, sometimes at me, cry with me, and I love them for all of those things.

I heard one of ABBA's songs again a few days ago, and the lyrics are quite apt;

You and I can share the silence 

Finding comfort together 

The way old friends do 

And after fights and words of violence 

We make up with each other 

The way old friends do 

Times of joy and times of sorrow 

We will always see it through 

Oh I don't care what comes tomorrow 

We can face it together 

The way old friends do 

Recently, two of my closest friends reached forty.   Over the last six months, in collaboration with many others, I've been putting together a couple of films in celebration of their forty years.  Both films were sprung on them as a surprise and needless to say went down well.

Many of us will often say we don't want any fuss, but in reality, a little fuss is rather nice, and I like nothing better than being a part of making that fuss, especially to people that mean the world to me.

Six years ago I too reached forty, and my friends made a fuss of me, and I loved every minute of it.  When was the last time you made a fuss of a close friend; wrote a letter, not an email, an old fashioned snail-mail letter just to say hi; made a spontaneous phone call to let them know you think of them?

So six years on has my "life begun"?  I think it would be more accurate to say it is starting to come into full bloom.  Yes, I'm doing the mid-life crisis bit, right down to the giant motorcycle (fuel-efficient engine, of course), and I'm getting as much as I can out of life.  I've had my share of health problems, and at times it's been tough, and thanks to my friends I've come through those times positively.  My life would not be as full as it is today without my friends.  So this is a thank you to all of you.

Do I worry about the future?  Not anymore.  We can face it together, the way old friends do.