REFLECTIONS : Friends
by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD
Five women professionals in their early 60s head to a tropical resort in Mexico . It was their idea of R & R , rest and recreation , a brief change of pace , a relief away from the daily cares of their busy world .
Not quite retired , they were also celebrating 50 years of continued friendship . As budding teenagers in their first year of high school , they bonded their parents into a group that fulfilled their needs . These included board and lodging , education , transportation to official events and the more banal tasks of providing acceptable entertainment - like rounding them up for skating or games . some of their parents .
Their friendships have enhanced the bonds of joy and cushioned the pain of loss . Remnants of an almost forgotten song remain in my head :
“ Faithful friends are one of life ’ s greatest treasures . Wealth and fame may pass away , bring no joy nor lasting pleasure , faithful friends abide always !”
To have friends spells happiness , would you agree ? Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist .
Without fully realizing it , they were also under concerned surveillance and guidance in what in later years would be called “ helicopter ” parenting .
Nevertheless through the years , they have shared landmark events : graduations , careers , marriages , raising their own children , disappointments and the deaths of loved ones , including those of
18 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE