Author Danielle Steele wrote that life is a series of chapters in our life.

“We want to believe the same characters will be there forever. But it rarely works out that way. Some characters leave the story; others come along,” she said.

That resonated with me because I hate to say goodbye to those in my life. I hate it more each year as time goes by.

I think that’s because as we grow older there are fewer people in our life. So when we lose someone, regardless of the reason, it creates a hole that’s harder to fill.

I think so much about my Italian family that sadly disappeared one by one.

With my mother and her four sisters, we never had to formally plan a party. Whenever we got together, it automatically became a party. It didn’t matter if it was just a get-together for a gab fest at our house or the Sunday night card games at my Aunt Theresa’s house. You can bet if we were together it became a party.

You can also bet there was plenty of laughter and plenty of great food.

I felt loved and I felt secure.

One thing I didn’t feel was fear that it would all end someday, that one by one my wonderful family would disappear from my life.

I can’t believe I am now the matriarch of our family. While growing old is a gift, it also requires much of us. Being the equivalent of “the last man standing” isn’t easy.

Daniele Steele is right when she says we need to look at life as a series of chapters, not as one long book where the same characters always remain.

That lesson landed with a thud for me when I had to say goodbye to my husband Andy.

Surprisingly, the grace I gained from living for 42½ years with the man I called St. Andrew helped me cherish even more each remaining day of my life. Even in his illness, he taught me how to live life with meaning.

I know each day of life isn’t meant to be wasted.

I did learn it’s true that life is a series of chapters and our story evolves every day.

While I greatly love when a new friend comes into my life I hate when someone leaves. My friend Linda Frost passed away four years ago and I still mourn the loss of that unique woman.

It isn’t just death that snatches people from our life. Often it’s just life’s mobility.

Some move away to be closer to family. Some move for a better job. And lately, with my friends, disabilities have prompted several friends to sell their big homes and find more suitable accommodations.

Whenever a friend leaves, we promise to stay in touch. But it seldom works out the way we think it will.

We do stay in touch through Facebook and email. That technology makes it so much easier to keep friends in our life. But it’s not the same as our former get-togethers.

I hate when I let precious friends disappear from my life. Lately I’ve come to realize that I’ve allowed COVID to cut down on my people contact. I certainly travel less and I think my time at home has made me lethargic.

I’m trying now to do something about it.

Last weekend I told my husband we needed to stop saying we were going to visit treasured friends Franck and Jan. We needed to replace good intentions with action.

Franck and Jan only live an hour away. There was a time when we didn’t think twice about driving for an hour to see friends. There was also a time when I didn’t complain about too much traffic.

Heck I remember how Franck and Jan drove for 10 hours to come visit us at the Outer Banks. That memory made me get on the phone to make plans to take them to lunch.

If time with friends can be described as “delicious” then that’s the word for the way we enjoyed seeing them again.

It was fun talking with Jan and Franck about some of the memories we’ve shared during our 40-year friendship. Memories are precious but seeing them in person topped that.

Here’s one of the unique things about them: Married for 63 years, they’ve never let go of each other. And they’ve never let go of their friends.

I’m amazed at how they have the same friends they’ve had for more than 50 years. How many people can say that?

Think about the friends you’ve had the longest. Do you still see them? How do you stay in touch?

I have just strengthened my resolve to stay in touch with friends that have meant so much to me. With distance and the passage of time I’ve not reached out the way I should.

This week a favorite Palmerton friend I haven’t heard from in a long time sent me the nicest email. I’ve often thought about him and his wife and wondered how they were. So the surprise email was most welcome. It had me glowing all week.

Is there someone out there wanting to hear from you?

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.