25 years and counting
I had lunch today with a friend I have known since I was five years old. We met at Junior Academy (a daycare and afterschool center) and spent many a day chatting over the afternoon snack. 25 years later, life has brought us full circle as we spent a part of our day chatting over an afternoon snack.
It is surprising that with the different places our life has taken us we have still managed to stay friends. We made it through middle school and high school when many a friendship between girls does not survive. When I moved to Texas for college and she was stationed in Japan we seemed to lose touch. But once again we reconnected and when she and her husband were stationed in Italy, a visit to them provided my first vacation to Europe. I was in her wedding and there when her son was born. I watched as she made another rank in the Navy and visited with her when her grandfather passed. Now, both of us in a city thousands of miles from our hometown, she is one of the few people (outside my family) who knows me as the child I used to be. Before the job, the education, the responsibilities. She has 25 years of gossip, laughs and funny stories that only the longest of friendships can provide.
Life has not always been what I have hoped, but I have been blessed with wonderful people whose friendship I treasure. I have those who I can always count on when I am in a bind. The one who will listen as I process out loud every decision I am making. The one that knows the mistake I made by repeatedly dating “that guy” and who only uses it occasionally as a reminder that I can be an idiot. The person who is willing to listen when I am scared, frustrated, and unsure. The one who brings a joke and funny story to brighten my day. The travel buddy who is always up for the adventure. The self-esteem booster, that tells me I look great when I need to hear it. The list goes on and on of wonderful, special, beautiful women ( and men) I have been blessed to have as friends. I know I take many of you for granted and am too busy to call, talk, or see you as much as I should. But thankfully you have not given up on me yet! Today’s lunch was a reminder of how important friendship is and confirmed my reason for adding calling friends regularly to my list. Believe me, I thank God for each and every one of my friends and realize what a blessing they are. 30 and life would be nothing without them!
Many people have asked me why I am not on Myspace or Facebook. I always say that I believe the people that I was supposed to be friends with I have somehow managed to find or we have kept in touch. My lunch today has once again confirmed my theory. Life has sent us both in different directions but 25 years later we are in the same city across the country from where we grew up. With many of my friendships there is no reason why we even know each other. We went to different schools, never worked together, or have no common thread that links us together. I have one friend that I met at a university club meeting in grad school. Had we not attended that meeting that night we probably never would have met because we had completely different school schedules, no classes together and never went to another meeting for that club. 8 years later… the list goes on and on. Not to say I don’t want to reconnect with people from my past or make new friends in the future. But I believe if it is supposed to happen, it will…