"The privilege of friendship should not be taken for granted"

I had dinner with three friends last week and I had breakfast with two friends today. I used to work with these 5 ladies way back in the turn of the milllenium - 2000. A whole decade ago, when the cinemas were full of Armageddon, end of the world movies :-) Where we used pagers in the hospital wards. :-)

It was nice. Very nice. And I really appreciate friendships forged in the workplace in the last decade. And the way we can all pick up where we've left off! After finishing school, you meet a lot of people at work. Sometimes, it's immensely challenging to find like minded people who you connect with in the workplace.

Granted, being a speech therapist does put me in a fairly protected environment in comparison to the fiercely competitive nature I hear of in the corporate jungle. But it can be trying at times, at work. Stress levels are high because of the dealings with emotions. More often than not, I feel I'm selling hope.

When stress levels are high, some use strategies to make themselves more comfortable which sadly can hurt others.

Others nobly sacrifice their own comfort to help you cope.

It was lovely to talk to friends who've gone through similar baptisms of fire. Who understand. Who hold important the same things that you hold important.

Graciousness
Decency
Fun
Kindness
And an impetus to help.

I dedicate this post (alphabetically) to all the dietitians, doctors, nurses, podiatrists, psychologists, social workers, teachers and therapists who have worked alongside me. - hope I haven't left anyone out!

Cheers to friendship!