The Sound of Friendship

Last week I heard the sound of friendship. It sounded like "Schwing, Schwing." When I turned my back for just a moment, my daughter, Kristi, turned 30. That isn't what made the "schwing, schwing" sound. It was her friend in Malaysia who took the time to write a song about Kristi's hair. That's right. About her hair. Her friend not only took the time to write a song about her hair, she then memorized it, practiced it, videoed it and then uploaded it to YouTube. After all that it was played at Kristi's birthday party in Germany where a group of about 70 had gathered to celebrate this milestone by having a talent/no talent show (ala Dan in Real Life). Kristi's friend insists that "schwing, schwing" is the sound Kristi's hair makes when it's tossed, but I know it's the sound of friendship. Friendship expressed by gift of time. Time given as a gift to a friend. Time to create something that, unless it goes viral on the Internet, will probably fade into history (although I must say that Sharon and I find ourselves singing the chorus throughout the day and probably will for years).

Isn't that the extravagance of friendship? In the classic book, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the fox points out that "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." How little we know of "wasting" time for our friends. Unlike Mary who "wasted" the perfume on Jesus, we miss myriads of opportunities to "waste" time, money and even very clever, cheesy songs, on our friends. No, "schwing, schwing" is not just the sound of Kristi's hair. It's the sound of friendship.