Thursday, January 04, 2007

I am SO not in my 20's anymore...

I got 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night and have realized that I am not as able to cope as usual when I pretend like I am 10 years younger than I really am. With that said, I had an amazing day yesterday and today and it was TOTALLY worth it! :-)

One of my oldest friends arrived in Seattle yesterday. I met Jennifer when we were in the same Girl Scout troop as sophomores in high school. After graduation (from rival high schools) we kept in touch through college and then lost touch with one another. Last January I was thinking of her so I "Googled" her (what do we do before Google) and found her. I sent one of those "are you, if so contact me" emails and we reconnected during a 2+ hour conversation on the phone the following weekend. She is in South Dakota now and I so wished that we could see one another and catch up properly. Well my wish came true in an email message just before Christmas announcing that she was coming to Seattle. I was THRILLED!

I worked from home for the afternoon so that I would be there when she arrived. She got to my place about 3:30 p.m. and for the next 24 hours we had the most amazing reunion ever. It had been 14 years since we had seen one another and I was hoping that it we could pick up right where we left off. I was thinking about her visit prior to her arrival and was worried that even though we were the "bestest of friends" as "children" would we have anything in common as adults?

My worries were completely unfounded because we did in fact pick up right where we left off and some quality time with her is exactly what I needed. It was surprising though many miles apart from one another and on totally different career paths how similar our lives have been. As children we had many similar interests and the same is true about us as adults. We both love good wine, good cigars, seafood, boys, chocolate, entertaining, adventure, travel, community service, our country, our faith and one another.

My time with Jennifer has reaffirmed for me that I am in the absolutely right place for me and that the things that are important to me, although some may deem shallow, are important! As adults we have many of the same dreams, aspirations and goals. We are the same gregarious, fun-loving, wildly-spirted and BOLD women that we were becoming back then but maybe a bit more refined now (LOL.... some may disagree). The sacrifice of sleep was worth the 10 solid hours that we spent talking and catching up last night and my only regret as my time with Jennifer drew to a close was that we couldn't do it all over again.

My wise mother once told me at the ripe old age of 13 that if you could count your true friends on the fingers of one hand you were a truly blessed person. It has taken me years to realize the true depth of that wise advise but as a woman in her 30's I feel truly blessed to have three of those people in my life (Jennifer, of course, being one of them).

As she pulled out of the parking lot at my office today, I sat at my desk for a moment and reflected on the profoundness of the past 24 hours. It is not a time I will soon forget and I sure hope that we get to do it again soon.

And to Jennifer (who will read this because I am sending her a link), thanks for an amazing memory and doing my dishes (although it's your least favorite household chore). Catching up with you, laughing with you, reminiscing with you and bonding with was a true pleasure. You are a truly amazing woman and friend and I am oh so blessed to call you my friend.

And since I acting like a 20-something last night, I think I will act like a 10-year-old tonight and go to bed super early. :-D

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