Friends Through Life
Many years ago I worked in an office. It was a creative company whose clientele were some of the wealthiest in the country. The owner of the business was temperamental to say the least. It was a tough job. While there I formed a friendship with Sallie. In time she became the Godmother of my children and was "in the know" of almost every aspect of my daily life, the way really good friends are. Before too many years had past we both left that office and moved on to other things. I became a full time mom and a very part-time massage therapist. She went off to college where she got a bachelor's, a master's and eventually a PhD. Eventually I got two master's degrees and a new vocation that I've worked in for almost 15 years.
As life would have it we lost contact a few years ago. My many moves and some chaos and cell phone changes and so on and so forth meant that some relationships fell by the wayside. Her career, a full time job, and working on a PhD left her in a similar state. Life had to grow narrow in order to cope.
Once my life settled down I began the process of trying to find Sallie again. I tried to email her but got no reply. Her email address must have changed. I no longer had her cell phone number. (Did we even have cell phone numbers before we lost contact? I think we did). I tried looking her up at the university where she worked. I tried to find her through Facebook, but privacy settings wouldn't let me contact her to make sure she was the person I knew. Finally I found her on Linkdin. I never really use Linkdin, but I found her there and sent her a contact request. Within a very short time, (hours?), we were back in contact. Unbelievable.
Yesterday I met up with Sallie. My daughter Jessica came along to see her beloved Godmother and friend. Oh the stories! Oh the day. So much to catch up on. We talked and ate and talked and shopped and talked some more. It was delightful!
Good friends are precious, especially friends who have known us through so many life transitions. Sallie met me just after I was married. She knew my mother (not many people I know today actually knew my mother). She knows all of "my stuff" - the struggles of a woman in her late twenties trying to find her way in the world. And I know hers. It's amazing to see where our lives have gone and how those early struggles have manifested into the lives we've lived. We have, by and large, managed to live the lives we hoped for.
A good part of our conversation yesterday was listening to my daughter express many of the same early struggles that Sal and I faced. I loved listening to Sallie share her story with my daughter. I've often told Jessica that her decisions are following a similar path as Sal's, especially not going to college straight from high school and trying to figure out as a woman in her mid-twenties, what to do with her life. I loved listening to Sallie's understanding of Jessi's thoughts and concerns.
I'm so glad that life has expanded again and we've reconnected. Yesterday was a day of celebrating life's challenges and accomplishments and, most importantly, friendship.
As life would have it we lost contact a few years ago. My many moves and some chaos and cell phone changes and so on and so forth meant that some relationships fell by the wayside. Her career, a full time job, and working on a PhD left her in a similar state. Life had to grow narrow in order to cope.
Once my life settled down I began the process of trying to find Sallie again. I tried to email her but got no reply. Her email address must have changed. I no longer had her cell phone number. (Did we even have cell phone numbers before we lost contact? I think we did). I tried looking her up at the university where she worked. I tried to find her through Facebook, but privacy settings wouldn't let me contact her to make sure she was the person I knew. Finally I found her on Linkdin. I never really use Linkdin, but I found her there and sent her a contact request. Within a very short time, (hours?), we were back in contact. Unbelievable.
Yesterday I met up with Sallie. My daughter Jessica came along to see her beloved Godmother and friend. Oh the stories! Oh the day. So much to catch up on. We talked and ate and talked and shopped and talked some more. It was delightful!
Good friends are precious, especially friends who have known us through so many life transitions. Sallie met me just after I was married. She knew my mother (not many people I know today actually knew my mother). She knows all of "my stuff" - the struggles of a woman in her late twenties trying to find her way in the world. And I know hers. It's amazing to see where our lives have gone and how those early struggles have manifested into the lives we've lived. We have, by and large, managed to live the lives we hoped for.
A good part of our conversation yesterday was listening to my daughter express many of the same early struggles that Sal and I faced. I loved listening to Sallie share her story with my daughter. I've often told Jessica that her decisions are following a similar path as Sal's, especially not going to college straight from high school and trying to figure out as a woman in her mid-twenties, what to do with her life. I loved listening to Sallie's understanding of Jessi's thoughts and concerns.
I'm so glad that life has expanded again and we've reconnected. Yesterday was a day of celebrating life's challenges and accomplishments and, most importantly, friendship.
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