We’ve all had a lot of friends over the years. As we grow older our friendships become even more important. But how many of these friendships have lasted five decades or more?

I think back to friends I went to school with, played sports with, went to ballet and choir with, belonged to various organizations with, and more. There are so many friends I’ve lost touch with over the years. I do have more than a handful of friendships that have lasted well over twenty or thirty years. But fifty years is special.

I was talking to my friend Carole last week. We first met back in 1964. I lived in Winnipeg and she lived in Minneapolis. There was no internet back then so we became penpals. We don’t see each other often. I last visited Carole on the July 4th weekend in 2011. I think we’re long overdue for a visit.

Sheila and I met back in 1965 in junior high school. We lost touch for a while after high school as I was going to university and she was busy having babies. But we found each other again on Facebook and we get together when I come back to Winnipeg to visit.

Rochelle and I met in 1971 when we were taking a course at university. While I remained in Winnipeg, she moved to Los Angeles when she got married. I did visit her in L.A. a few years ago. She has since moved to Arizona and I hope to visit her there once things settle down with Covid.

These are three friends in my 50 plus club. We’ve gone through marriages and divorces. We’ve supported each other in times of crisis. We’ve laughed and we’ve cried together. We don’t see each other nearly often enough as we live in different countries but thanks to technology we are able to keep in touch.

Here’s to many more years of friendship ahead!