The wisdom of 5 year olds

Every once in a while as I get my oldest 2 children on the school bus, my youngest son hasn't made his pitter patter down the hallway and out of his room. On these rare times, I like to climb back into bed for an extra 20 minutes of sleep. When Sam awakes he crawls into bed beside me and we snuggle up to catch an episode of Curious George. This morning was one of those precious days. But today he brought his "teddy" which is bigger than he is. He laid it between us and cozied his way under the covers. After about 30 seconds he stated "I have to move him(the teddy)." I responded "Aw, you wanting to snuggle with mommy?" He blew me away when he said "Well yeah, why wouldn't you want to be close to someone you love?" He sent chills down my spine and I couldn't speak. I just held him close. It was one of those moments that when other people experience it I think "did that really happen that way or did they see that in a movie?"
This innocent exchange made me contemplate all of my relationships. Why is it that the people I love the most, after my husband & children, seem the farthest away right now? Why have I allowed surrounding circumstance to distance me from friends when we should be holding each other the closest. Why, is that "teddy" in between us? I have a friend that I have known for about 14 years now and she doesn't live close anymore but we still keep in touch. She was my first"life after high school" friend. She changed my life. She was the first friend to ever tell me she loved me. When she saw a characteristic in me that she valued, she stated it. She is one of the most mild and genuine people I know. Her husband just very recently stepped into remission from Leukemia and now her mother, with whom she is extremely close, has ovarian cancer and hospice has been called in. She has encountered obstacles and heartbreak that I can't even fathom, and still, you guessed it, she's usually the one calling me to see how I'm doing. Are you kidding me?!!! The reality of her days are life and death, mine are not. I let busyness of life cause me to be lazy in my friendships. Busyness is my teddy.

I want to be more like my friend. I want to shake up my friendships with genuine concern, intimacy, encouragement and for heaven's sake laughter!! I can't remember the last time I shared a real "belly laugh" with a friend. I want to walk with my friends into old age. Not look back and ask "What ever happened to......?"