Witnesses to Life

In the movie Shall We Dance?, Susan Sarandon describes marriage as “witnessing the life of another.” In marriage we commit to doing that, in all its minute details. In the movie Coast to Coast with Richard Dreyfus, a long-married couple is contemplating divorce, but embarks on a last trip across country where they revisit family and friends, and in the end, they recommit to their marriage, because they realize they have witnessed each others’ lives, good and bad, together.
That is what siblings, cousins and old friends are about—witnessing life’s various joys and sorrows with you. That’s why they become so important in mid life. The function of “witnesses” is very important. When you’re with them, you don’t have to explain everything. They were there! The knew your parents and how you looked in your youth and the other circumstances of place and time that you shared. Sometimes these witnesses have different perspectives on those events that help you with honest re-evaluation, when it is time for that.
Thus we shouldn’t X people out of our past life lightly. (Users and abusers need special handling.) We don’t want to sell the old house and move to another place, abandoning the marks on the walls and gardens we laid out there. We plan to save the photo albums if there’s a fire. Those Christmas letters are very important too.
I like to make a new good friend for every few years, and hang on to lots of acquaintances. I am blessed with siblings, cousins, and old friends from different eras of my life. And now I know why. Save the Witnesses!
Do you agree with me on this?

---------------------------------------------------
Comments & Questions? Email: womenbefriends@yahoo.com