Reason, season or lifetime

I have a friend who as we get to know each other I realize that we have very little in common, we have different beliefs in how to raise our children, we have different practices and rituals at home, our support system is fundamentally different, our preferences in how to get work done are worlds apart and when and how we socially interact is completely opposite.

Some examples, she speaks to her mother multiple times a day, I to mine every few weeks. I prefer to work in teams, her alone. I let my kids make their own mistakes and fail if that is the natural consequence. Whilst she ensures her kids are learning and doing their homework and achieving at the highest levels possible, allowing them access to the best possible schools and education.

To her horror, I also allow my kids to get sunburned so that next time, they will remember themselves to put on the cream. She believes that there is enough hurt in the world, so she prepares them where she has that control, protecting them as they leave the front door.

She gets nervous, maybe even stressed, when she has to deliver something at work with a colleague, I get nervous when there is no one to work with. She expresses her feelings easily and publicy, I do neither very well.

We dress differently, her flowy and bright, me more fitted with splatters of colour. I enjoy high adrenalin sports with good cardio, she prefers more calm and strength building activities. I enjoy wearing makeup and posh dresses, she prefers jogging pants and being "Au natural". She is dependent on her telephone, I chose to not use it if I can avoid.

So why is it that we get on so well, well actually I am not sure but I think it is however quite simple.

We are both interested in human nature. We both see each other as beautiful, from the inside out. We are both caring and kind. We also both believe it is about give and take in relationships and we are no fools. We both protect our worlds fiercely and enjoy the life we have been given. We look for the learning in hardship and firmly believe we are capable of anything we commit to. We are both always searching, her for the sun and me for myself.

I think I was always meant to meet her, but the time had to be right. She would have been too much for me a few years ago and I too uptight for her. I had to be ready for her.

As you read this you will have formed an opinion about which one of us you prefer, which one lives life best. Yet one thing for me is clear. Our friendship was formed by understanding each other, asking about how our decisions were made and why and how this works for them. Neither of us thinks we have got it right, neither judge the other, ever, at all.

I think that's the essence of it, we respect each others choices and learn from them, stealing ideas that could work back at the ranch.

Dear pathfinder, thank you for coming into my life. So which category do we fall into: Reason, season, lifetime. Answer. All.