November Prompt. Acceptance
& writer Wendy Reichental
Hey friend,
On May 20, 2010, in the earliest hours of the morning, a burglar by the name of Vjeran Tomic robbed the Paris Museum of Modern Art. It’s noted as the biggest art heist in French history—two Picassos, a Léger, a Matisse, and a Modigliani were stolen.
Tomic was a gifted thief. Respected by the police—in his decades as a burglar, he never partook in violence. In May of 2011, under police questioning, Tomic openly admitted to stealing the paintings as if expecting a badge of honor.
In the months before his trial, Tomic met a woman named Opiola at a bar in Paris when he asked her if he could have a look at the magazine she was reading. The connection was authentic and the two began a romance during his incarceration—sending letters.
He wrote to her that he felt, “obliged to be a thief.”
“It’s in his DNA,” Opiola once told the press.
Acceptance is a key part of any relationship—both romantic and platonic. This month we’ll explore our need for both affirmation and embrace. Our need for forgiveness.
Please see the November prompt below as well as a piece by Wendy Reichental who completed the October prompt—reconnecting with an old friend. I’d love to know how you completed the prompt, update me in the comments!
Love,
Miriam
November Prompt:
Send a letter to a friend. An old friend, a new friend… write to them. So rarely do we properly express ourselves through notes anymore. Send a letter in the mail or a thoughtful email. If you have any questions let me know in the comments.
Tackling Our October Prompt: Reconnecting With an Old Friend
By: Wendy Reichental
In the late 1970s, when I was in high school, I had a few good friends. But one girlfriend stood out from the crowd: we had one sister and immigrant parents in common. We enjoyed each other's company and were fortunate that our apartment buildings were conveniently nearby. Best of all, we bonded over our love for watching The Flintstones, and who can forget Laverne and Shirley? We nicknamed ourselves Laverne and Shirley.
It's incredible how a perceived slight could end friendships during those formative years. To this day, I can't quite remember the particular kerfuffle that ended our friendship and resulted in us not speaking.
Fate intervened in 2017 when, now in our 50s, we bumped into each other on a downtown street in Montreal. With immediate recognition, we hugged and stood there fervently chatting. We exchanged cell numbers and caught up a few more times before my friend announced she was moving to another province for work. Our lives continued on separate trajectories.
I was, therefore, beyond surprised and delighted when I received a text recently that this friend and her new partner would be in town and asked if we could plan a get-together. Now in our early 60s, I was thrilled to hear she was happy and in the throes of a new relationship. We decided to meet for breakfast. My husband and her new beau hit it off, and my friend and I reminisced about our last year in high school and questioned what happened to cause our rift. The funny thing is that neither of us could recall definitively.
The four of us spent additional time together over the next few days, talking incessantly about everything and comparing stories of work, retirement, aches and pains, and our growing list of medical issues. Then came the realization that we must part and say goodbye.
In high school, having lots of friends and, if you are lucky, a "best friend" is lifesaving; it's a crucial support system that gets you through those challenging school years fraught with insecurities, anxieties, loneliness, and a changing body. It's not so different from how I'm feeling in my early 60s, dealing with a new kind of emotional loneliness and a changing older body. The anxieties stem from new fears, such as health, financial, and familial concerns.
Connecting with my high school friend after so many years was lovely, but I have had to reign in my expectations and appreciate that friendships go through their evolution and ebbs and flows. I must confess, I am guilty of not keeping in touch via phone, FaceTime, or Facebook.
No friendship remains static; you must maintain, cherish, and nurture your existing friendships regardless of age. A long-distance friendship requires communication and commitment from both sides. You can do as I say, not as I do.
"A good friend is a connection to life—a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."
—Lois Wyse
