Somehow I’ve acquired a cadre of spectacular friends. I’ll give myself some credit for this collection, because about ten years ago I made a specific decision to take better care of my friendships, and turned more attention to friends. But that is not the whole of it. I dunno. I suppose I am just fortunate. (I do not take my fortune lightly.)

I have an array of friends who might be called mere acquaintances, were it not for the electric and precious attraction that we have for each other—interesting relationships that are formed not through a long history of shared experiences, but through some undefined but vivid connection. I cherish these powerful albeit fledgling friendships.

Other of my friends have been beside me through all that life presents. We’ve planted gardens, and buried loved ones. We’ve planned weddings, and suffered divorces. We have cleaned each others’ kitchens, diaper pails, and chicken coops. And we’ve grown to love sitting together, doing nothing, talking about this and that, and maybe polishing our nails.

Right now I live at least 300 miles away from 97% of my friends. Thanks to modern devices, we can keep in touch, still do some of our friend things. And so, tonight this photo arrives in my emailbox.

Hallelujah iPhone, with your built-in camera, and capacity to transmit images 300 miles through the sky; I can help a dear but faraway friend chose a polish to go with her green, paisley blouse … (I voted for the one second from the left), and our friendship stays warm, in spite of the miles between us, and we continue to collect the little shared moments that have built our friendship into the amazing thing that it is. It’s the little bits that add up to life.

Here we have the beginnings of a new project of mine. The first iteration of the Afterward Project is currently shipping to a conscripted beta tester; I can’t reveal too much about it until her test begins.

However, I can tell you that the core of the Project begins with these tags that I am making from some of the many postcards I have gathered in my travels; using up a bit of my abundance of craft supplies is always a good thing.

Stay tuned for more info …