Lately I’ve been doing a Top Ten Tuesday, but in honor of this years Boston Marathon finishers and last years victims and survivors I’m re-posting this post that I posted the day after last years Boston Marathon.
My Momentary Friends
Despite how you may perceive me here, I actually have friends in the real world. Don’t laugh, I do. We all have many different kinds of friends though. We have friends from school, friends from work, and friends in our neighborhoods or apartment buildings. We also have what I like to think of as “momentary friends.” These are people who may enter our lives for only a moment every day or once a week, but in many ways are as important to us as are the friends for whom we profess love and longing.
It could be the cashier you always go to at the supermarket because she has a nice smile and makes small talk about the weather. There’s the security guard outside your office who holds the door as you leave. Maybe it’s even a Facebook friend who was never more than an acquaintance years ago, but who always clicks “Like” to your status updates. Then of course there’s girl at Supercuts who cuts your hair and asks about your plans for the weekend. It’s the guy who says hello as he passes you on his nightly walk down your street.
We all have about a hundred of these people in our lives and I enjoy their momentary friendship immensely. I think we all do. As much as family or friends whom we know by name, these people also provide us with a sense of security. Often, more than “real” family or friends our “momentary friends” are dependable. They’re always there for us with that smile and hello, or perhaps only a knowing nod. Day in and day out, sometimes for years these nameless people are part of our lives and I miss them and worry about what happened to them when they don’t show up in my daily routine.
I also like to imagine that just perhaps, once or twice maybe my momentary friends and I have saved each other’s lives without even knowing it. Perhaps our three second interaction slowed one of us up just enough in our daily routine that we missed stepping off the curb in front of a speeding bus later in the day. So, for saving my life and brightening my days this post is dedicated to my favorite momentary friends: Supermarket cashier who likes basketball, Indian Girl at Starbucks, Walking Man, Girl with dog, Haircut Girl and Security Guard. Without these people and their momentary friendship my day would be incomplete. I don’t think I know anyone who was at the Boston Marathon yesterday, but then again, I don’t know about my momentary friends. May you all be safe and may you all be there when I leave the house tomorrow. When you see your momentary friends take that moment to give them a smile, a hello, or a thank you, because you just never know.
As always, if you like what you read at #ThePhilFactor please hit the Facebook, Twitter or reblog button below and I would be humbled if you wanted me as your momentary friend by following me on Twitter @ThePhilFactor and Instagram: ThePhilFactor. Have a great Tuesday! ~Phil
This is a great sentiment. I’ve often thought about how these characters play a role in my life and wondered if I could consider them friends. Now I realize they are momentary frienfs
Thanks Marissa!