Recently, I got a text from my friend, Marianne Templeton, with flight details saying that she was arriving to see me. Apparently, Marianne was hatching the plan with my daughter Julie for some time. She will arrive this week.

She wanted nothing arranged, desiring only to spend precious time with me.

I was panicked and delighted in equal measures. With ongoing chemotherapy, my house cleaning is not up to scratch and I’d love a month of absolute wellness to be able to prepare for Marianne’s arrival.

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Hence, the panic. Meanwhile, the delight of her impending visit was starting to take hold in my heart.

What a wonderful act of friendship and love it is to come all the way from Australia.

The cost, the time and the disruption to her own life will all take its toll. I know she wants to see me for herself. If the tables were turned, I’d want to do the same for her. When someone is undergoing treatment and far away, it is difficult. Marianne doesn’t know how I really am and she wants to know what my bad days and more importantly, my good days, look like.

The gift of friendship

The gift of friendship is just beautiful. Some friends are closer than others and a few are really tight. It is hard to explain how certain friendships develop fast and furiously and others don’t. They remain in the realm of acquaintances that never become friendships.

This is for a lot of reasons, maybe there is not enough common threads there to make a friendship. Hobbies are a great way of making friends because that becomes the first tie.

I love people’s life stories and embracing goals and things that I have in common with others

A partner or spouse’s friend often grows to be your friend too and that makes for lifelong bonds. Going to school or college or working together are great foundations for friendship. So, I have friends from all those angles. Tim tells me that I make friends easily and I do. I love people’s life stories and embracing goals and things that I have in common with others.

So, how did I become friendly with Marianne? In 2004, when my children were young, I was a busy wife, mother and farmer. I was also a part-time teacher and was just about coming up for air after some very busy years. I was involved in the IFA and there was a trip organised to go to Australia to explore their rural women’s agricultural offering in terms of their farm organisation.

There was a conference being held. The IFA had appointed an officer with the specific purpose of increasing the involvement of women in leadership and numbers. We would also be hosted by rural women and farms alongside them. This is what attracted me. Tim encouraged me to go. I would be away for a month taking a week extra to meet my first cousins. I dreaded the flight home on my own after that extra week.

An unforgettable time

We arrived and enjoyed the weekend-long conference. Then we were farmed out. I was allocated to a sheep farm. I protested, having no sheep on our farm. Immediately Marianne said she would take the extra girl who so badly wanted to be on a dairy farm. I landed in Gippsland.

I was at home on the Templeton farm and Marianne, her husband Frank and their three girls, Julia, Mollie and Claire warmed my heart. We’ve been down under since and they’ve come to Ireland.

Marianne and I are not the best for staying in touch, and yet when we chat, we take up exactly where we left off last time.

That’s the true test of friendship. In 2004, I was happy and contented in my life. Now, the challenges are greater but I’m still happy. A precious week.