Old, Old Friends

Last night Roger, Jack and I went to a party to celebrate several birthdays with some friends that date back to college days.

Roger and Jack just had their birthday on the 17th (yes, it's very cool they have the same birthday but they are starting to plot how to leverage that to their best advantage in terms of wrangling extravagant gifts out of me). Our friend Carolyn and her daughter Kirsten (who is the same age as Jack) and our friend Jeri also have May birthdays. So we had a birthday cake with five candles on it, one for each of them.

Throughout the evening I kept thinking two things: (1) How amazingly comforting it is to be in the company of old friends that we can just fall into step with regardless of how long it's been and who love and appreciate us regardless of how all our lives have evolved over the years, and (2) how amazingly disconcerting it is to be in the company of "old" friends who now have children in college!

This past year I've reconnected with several old friends, and I'm so glad. One of my oldest friends, Judy (we date back to first grade!), found my email address one day and since then we've corresponded a bit and were able to get together for dinner last fall while Jack and I were back east. It was fun to meet her husband and daughter, and to laugh about old times. We hadn't really seen each other since high school, and it was so nice to get a glimpse of the good life she's created for herself. I'm a little worried, however, about the glimpse she had into my life--Jack could have used a bit more wrangling at the dinner table that night. Ah, but at least he's cute!

Somehow I'd lost touch with one of my favorite college friends, Sally. Every six months or so I'd google her, but no luck for several years. Just a couple of months ago, I came across her sketch blog http://sallyfaye.com and was able to reconnect with her. She is someone I just love knowing, and it feels good to know where she is in the world.

I loved getting an out of the blue email from Wade the other day, or getting a surprise visit from Becky and her family as they drove from Disneyland to their home in Idaho Falls over spring break, or a getting a phone call from Wendy, or sharing a rare meal with Jon and catching up on all of the changes in his life. I have such good memories of all of my old friends and hope to make more!

This past Christmas I finally got Christmas cards out after a five-year hiatus (I refused to use the lame excuse that I'm too busy owning a retail business in December anymore). Some of the cards came back undelivered. I don't know where Mindy is anymore, or Denise, or Janine, or several others. I'm going to try harder to find them and reconnect. They are all part of who I am.