Silver and Gold

“Make new friends, but keep the old… one is silver and the other gold.”

These are the opening lines of a song I learned back in my scouting days. I’ve always remembered it, and I like to think I remember my old friends, too. I can still name most of my kindergarten and grade-school classmates, and if asked, I could probably tell you which girls were in that scouting troop with me.

I’ve written about friendships before, focusing mostly on the new concept of online friendships. I think these are the silver friends we sing about. I’m grateful for all of the online friendships I’ve made through Facebook and other social media platforms.

Making friends used to be a very natural part of life. When we’re young, we’re active. We’re going places, doing things, and meeting many new people through our days. Now, though, I spend most of my time at home. I do get out and attend art clubs, and I have developed new friendships through my art activities, but other than that I don’t have a lot of opportunities to make new friends.

Social media has also been a way of reconnecting and keeping in touch with many of those old, gold friendships, the ones that began way back in elementary school. Through Facebook it’s now easy to stay in touch with friends who have moved to different parts of the country, to have the fun of chatting again with friends I’d lost touch with. It’s a good feeling to see how quickly and easily we can pick up old, golden friendships and talk with one another as though no time has passed.

 

I do enjoy making new friends — both online and in person — and I’m grateful for my old friends. Silver and gold are very precious metals, and friendships are precious, too.