Studies say that people who have friends live longer and have fewer illnesses, and that a close circle of friends actually helps the immune system work.

I’ve been lucky throughout this lifetime, even though I moved just about every three years when I was in grammar school and middle school to have found many close friends. Each year when I moved from Norwich to Farmington to New Haven and to Branford and FINALLY settling in Madison, I always was able to connect with at LEAST one close friend. I almost think moving as often as I did provided me with much more resilience then had I stayed in one place.

I knew that if I wanted to be accepted I had to go out and prove that I wasn’t afraid to stick my head out and be noticed. I ALWAYS found one or two close friends. In Farmington when I was in first and second grade, there was Derek who lived in the same apartment building. I vividly remember running between our connecting cellars to visit each other.

In New Haven when I was in the third and forth grades it was brothers Pete and Paul. We’d hike together in the woods behind my apartment. We stayed at each other’s homes many times. When I moved to Branford I found Dan. We quickly became very good friends. We were both in the same class and there came a time when we had to be separated. He went to a different section of our class because we were becoming disruptive. Kind of funny now as I look back on it, but trust me, it was far from funny when our parents discovered what happened.

When I moved to Madison Todd took on the role. We fished together, we took a hunter’s class together. And throughout all of my moves there was one constant. My friend, Joe in Lisbon, Connecticut.

In the past few years, I’ve found several friends I wouldn’t trade for the world. I feel extremely blessed to have the people in my life I have now and they are all very important to me. With the group I have now I should live forever. I’m grateful to all of my friends. Everyone should be so blessed.

Find your group of friends and you’ll live longer and be healthier too.

Be Happy! Be Well! Be Positive!
—
Chris

As an addendum:
I’ll be away from my computer Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so I will not be posting an entry on those three days.