Melancholy moods

I had a dream a couple nights ago and it has stuck with me.  Ever have that happen?

I dreamed about a friend that I fell out with a long time ago.  In the dream, I was walking beside a long storage warehouse that had many doors.  The sky was hazy and the wind was blowing dry leaves around my feet.  As I was walking, one of the doors opened and I saw this friend's mother standing in the doorway.  I asked her how he was, and she said he was fine, but regretted the way things went between us.  She said he was in a difficult place right now and wished things could be different.  I then kept walking towards the end of the building where I could see a light spilling out of another open door.  A person stood in front of it.  As I got closer, I realized it was him.  He looked very sad and I told him it was alright and that we all do things that we regret.  I gave him a hug and then woke up.  All day Friday I was in a melancholy mood as a result, wondering who would next show up in my dreamland wanderings.

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I read a couple years ago that the average friendship lasts seven years.  You'll either be in different stages of life by that time, or will have parted ways.
Looking back, I notice that I didn't make very many close friends.  My family moved a lot, so I learned to be content with being alone.  I don't mind eating my lunch and enjoying a good book.  Even during high school when that sort of behaviour was frowned upon.  I ended up being very careful when making friends, so losing some of them has created a little bit of sadness upon reflection.  Some friends have grown apart, whereas others were more abrupt, for reasons known or unknown.  The unknown ones are the ones that tend to be brought up in my dreams, making me think that they are on my mind more than I'll admit.  Sometimes they are the main player, such as in the dream above, or sometimes they are someone in passing, making my head turn to see if it was really them.

These days I work harder at keeping friendships.  I have precious few, and the ones I have are special.  Also, I have to realize that sometimes things are out of my hands, and that life will take mysterious paths.

Here's to hoping for happy dreams tonight.