Friendship Age Like Wine

I was thinking about a party that my parents had awhile ago. Every now and then my parents throw a party (for whatever occasion). The last ones to go are usually relatives and medical school pals.

As the party begins to wind down, my father usually starts tinkling with the piano keys until music begins to float out into air. I have posted before how my father is very talented on the keyboard and can often play any song by request. At this point their friends gather round him and begin to sing along. Their voices which use to embarass me as a teenager now calms me or makes me smile. This singing can continue for several hours past twilight. The music starts out robust (with glasses of scotch or wine clinking to the start of favorite songs) and then mellows as the moon shifts it's position over the singers.

I like the fact that they have several sets of friends who have been around for years. There are several families which we've spent every holiday since the 70's with. These are the people who stay around till the sunrises, chatting happily around the dining table or around the baby grand. They are the same families that have been there for our births and also the births of grandchildren. They are the first to applaud at graduations and weddings and the last guest to leave a celebration.

I've made my own friends outside this inner circle. But I thank God every day for this inner structure which helped me to base the criteria for which I've set my own standards for friendship.