Trolling around twitter today I see the common Friday hashtag #friendsfriday and think, “What a marketing ploy!” I can’t help it. It’s the business woman in me. Then I surf some more and see that today is #NationalBestFriendsDay! My first thought was what if we took these hashtags seriously. What if we committed to building our current friends, reconnecting with old friends, and lastly, meeting new friends! As the old girl scout favorite goes, “Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold.”
I first thought of my friend Melanie and realized that I hadn’t asked her how she was doing lately. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text. How easy that was! Melanie is a dear friend. We go back over 30 years when our husbands played in a band together. Melanie managed the band,
and I would occasionally sing back up vocals. I can’t think of that time without smiling. Come to think of it, so many of our dearest friends are connections we have made through music! Just this week, Dave and I played and sang for a funeral with our dear friends Tim and Julie who moved across the country this year. While we were sad for our friend, Sal, who lost his step-dad, we were elated to see one another and to play and sing together.
When I think about my music friends, I can’t help but think of the new friends I have made through our membership with the Children’s Music Network. We joined as business sponsors about 5 years ago when we took on Songs for Teaching. I figured it would be important to join to promote children’s music and to connect with some of our Songs for Teaching artists who were also members. What I didn’t realize is how this group would touch 
my heart and lead me to some incredible human beings, whom I am proud to call friends. Just this week I’ve been emailing with our new friend Dave Kinnoin about an important song he has written; I received a cute card from Lisa Heintz just because; and I hungout via google for a meeting feeling like I just reconnected with friends across the country.
Music is the perfect connector! It has the ability to draw out our feelings and to break down barriers or inhibitions. There is something special about the shared joy experienced when playing or listening music with friends. I guess that’s why I am so passionate about the Children’s Music Network. I can’t wait until the conference in October where we can meet up face to face and add to those joy-filled shared experiences.
So send a text to one of your best friends. Better yet, invite them over and get out the guitar and sing some songs or spin some records together!
