YOU ARE THE PLACE WHERE I STAND ON THE DAY WHEN MY FEET ARE SORE.

– This is the literal translation of “mo sheasamh ort lá no choise tinne,” the Irish phrase for trust, as noted by Pádraig Ó Tuama.

The concept of duration has been following me around all week – from investment discussions at work to a conversation at the gym to a glorious gathering this weekend with dear friends.

I’m not sure about the yield curve or ultramarathons, but I do know that friendships that go the distance are truly precious. To witness someone’s life unfold, to see how it cris-crosses with your own, to know a person – and to be known – across time and space and circumstance… what a terrific gift.

Some friends are steady like mountains, quiet presences that endure. Some are like rocks thrown in a pond, splashy at times, yet with ripples that extend ever outward. Some are the very ground beneath us, the places we stand on the days when our feet are sore.

Dear ones, wherever we find ourselves today, let’s take a moment to appreciate the people in our lives with staying power – rare, and vital, and essential. True gold.

Make new friends, but keep the old

One is silver and the other gold.

– Brownie Girl Scout song, taught to me by my mom. Best sung in a round, by a chorus of very cute kids wearing beanies.