Those were the days my friends...

We thought they would never end.....everyone sing with me! I ran into a former colleague of mine today.  Hubby and I were going to visit our favourite Vancouver city garden - Van Dusen Gardens.  There was a home renovation show going on in the Floral Hall.  I saw a commercial vehicle with the company name of the owner that was a friend and colleague while I was working at the Better Business Bureau.  I have not seen him since May 2012!

I realized very quickly after I had my beginnings into "jubiladas" (okay, retirement), most of the friendships I had while working softly ended.  I never thought they would.  Another epiphany in life...it is important to grow, care for and harvest friendships in both worlds - Work World (WW) and Play World (PW).  Those people who forgot their family and PW friends through their career may have experienced a loneliness after leaving WW.

I still have some very important friendships that have stayed with me throughout my career.  I have friends from my Rogers/Shaw Communications days (20 years of friendships), my BC Apartment Owners and Managers Association days (13 years) and my final hurrah, my Better Business Bureau days.  WW friendships take lots of hard work because they are initially based on sharing common pains and joys of building successful businesses.  Some friendships, I found out after I retired, really did not get passed the initial phase.  We did not work hard enough to find common ground in the full scope of our lives.

I was sad at first when I realized how superficial many relationships had been.  I was a conduit to something they wanted for themselves.  

It didn't last long folks!  I have a sweet life with amazing friendships and loving family surrounding me like a warm blanket.  Stay true to your good friends and love your family to bits. Cheers!