“True friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.”

I am proud to say that I have many friends, dear friends, new friends and long-time friends. Friends that are family, friends from school, friends that are neighbors, friends that I met on vacation or at the pool. I value my friendships greatly and focus on maintaining them, feeding them with love and communication, reaching out to my friends through the telephone or in-person visits. Some friends I haven’t seen in years, but we keep in contact when and where we can. We are always ready to share a smile, a laugh, a story, a text.

One of my oldest friends is Diane, we were best friends in high school. It’s been a few years since we last saw each other. I think it was a high school reunion. She lives in Oregon and I in Mexico. So we just haven’t been able to get together. But we love each other very much.

Maureen is my oldest college friend. We met at a fraternity party, I think. We spent a semester abroad together in Madrid, Spain. She was always interested in learning Spanish and speaks it well. I am god-mother to her only daughter, Jessica. We were separated by many miles for many years, but did coincide in Redondo Beach, California for a number of years and lived very close to one another. We share a love of margaritas (mine frozen, hers on the rocks) and Mexican food. We share our faith (Catholicism) and love of family.

Work friends are endless. We all meet people at work that we enjoy keeping company with and sharing fun times during office hours and off. Sometimes I feel like we make great friends, but when one or both of us move on from the shared employer, we simply lose touch. It’s sad, but you know what they say: “We have three types of friends in life: friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for a lifetime.”

Bridget is one of my oldest work friends. At the time, she was my boss. This was in the late 1980’s. She was a mentor and role model. She was always the standard by which I measured my success in human resources. She, too, relocated quite a bit in her career in the hotel business. She moved around from the East Coast to the West Coast and in between, I think. We last saw each other years ago when she was visiting NYC and I was living in Brooklyn. And we continue to keep in touch with occasional emails.

When I first met Suzette while working as a Consultant at a casino in Detroit, she did not care for me at all. Why? I was hired to implement change and that is not always welcome. It takes time to build trust and respect. And we were both able to do that. That was over 20 years ago. Once she got to know me we became great friends. She is one of my dearest friends, and I consider her a sister.

Speaking of sisters, Norma Alicia is my only blood sister. I’ve mentioned her in other stories. She is two years younger than I am. She was relegated to wearing my “hand-me-downs” as a child and I was forced to constantly look after her and include her in my activities (as a child). Here’s an example of a Mexican tradition that made me crazy when I was younger. In the USA when you are sent a party invitation (ie: birthday) it is for the recipient of the invitation. In Mexico, it automatically includes the family. It just does. Your siblings, your parents, your grandparents and maybe a stray aunt or close neighbor. So whenever I was invited to a classmate’s party, my mother made me take my little sister. As you can imagine, if I was 10 at the time, that meant my little 8 year old sister was tagging along. The horror (LOL). Well, it was at the time. I was the only little girl invited that brought her sister. I would tell my mother, “nobody else brings their little sister.” For my mother, there was no question that my sister was going with me. And I remember my friends asking about it. Why did I always bring my little sister? I couldn’t say no to my mother, and I honestly think my sister enjoyed going. At the time, the party invitations weren’t coming for her. Now that I think about it, I don’t know why. And I don’t remember ever going with her to her parties. Fast forward, 10-20 years, and we enjoyed going to parties together. We are each other’s friend, confidant and cheerleader.

Now, Paul is in his own category. But, that’s Paul. We met through a mutual friend. This was over 30 years ago. He is a special friend. We don’t see each other very often. He lives in Northern California. But he and his husband were on vacation in Puerto Vallarta last year, and we did get together and do what we usually do together: drink and laugh. Love you, honey.

Maria Elena lives in the Dominican Republic. I met her when I vacationed there over 10 years ago. I’ve been back to visit her many times. I am god-mother to her only daughter, Sarai. Maria Elena works in the hotel industry and speaks several languages. She is very dear to me and I look forward to visiting her and Sarai soon.

And that brings me to the present. Since I moved to Mexico I initially had a hard time meeting people and making friends. My first year in Veracruz, I leaned on my family. Specifically my Machorro Guzman cousins. We spent a lot of time together and I love them lots. Once I moved to Puerto Vallarta, I found myself among many Americans and Canadians in my apartment buildings. These temporary residents love the fun & sun in Mexico. At the pool I met Sandra & Rick, John & Addie, Rob & Sue and now Lisa & Kevin, all from Canada. And “BlueJay” Karen (from the USA) and Deborah (Mexicana). Lovely people and lots of fun.

Last year I met a special friend, Raghavi. And she was only in PV 6 months (work Visa restriction). We spent a lot of time together. I helped her find an apartment in PV when she first arrived, after I saw her post on a FaceBook group. She is now in the Caribbean working remotely for an American company, while she waits for her USA Visa. Can’t wait to visit her once she returns to the USA.

There are other friends that are pictured in this Blog, but I’m just not able to include their stories without making this post very very long. A special hello to Lisa P., Rosalind, and Amanda. I’ve mentioned Julia, Jonathan, Marcela & Steve R. in other stories. Also, if I’ve missed anyone, I apologize. I had to go back quite a few years to find some pictures and couldn’t find others. So, I would like to mention, Paty G., Wendy, Dora, Domi, Laura & Pilar, Lynn & Rick, Eddy, Catherine, “Bama”, and Dra. Eva. These are all fairly new friends that I’ve made in Mexico and speak to on a regular basis through WhatsApp chat or in person.

“True friendship resists time, distance and silence.” – Isabel Allende