Old Friends

Back in October or November, when our stove broke and we had to buy a new one, I asked Don if we could go out to dinner while shopping for our new appliance. We seldom go out to dinner as a family, usually only for family birthdays, and that's with most of the Hunt Clan that lives locally.

We had a wonderful dinner and halfway through our meal, another family was seated near us - 5 adults. I recognized the oldest man and woman from my high school days (the woman had been our school librarian), then realized that one of my dearest friends from high school was the younger woman with them, the librarian's daughter.

I made eye contact with them, waved, and mouthed, "Hello, Mrs. Boerner. Hello, Carmen."

My friend didn't recognize me and was quite surprised when I shouted my maiden name to her across the restaurant. Before leaving, we exchanged numbers and e-mail addresses and agreed to try and get together with another good friend of both of ours who's still very close to me.

Carmen mentioned that she was a Special Ed teacher, so I thought about her in preparation for the holidays. Realizing she'd be off school and probably have a little free time, I gave my other friend a call, then left a message for Carmen, hoping to use that time to get us all together. Ultimately, the three of us had lunch at Olive Garden on New Year's Eve.

We laughingly told the waitress (who gave us our menus and, 30 minutes later, came back to see if we were ready to order - we hadn't even yet opened them) that we hadn't seen each other in - what's that? How many years? Let's see. I last saw Carmen upon high school graduation in 1979. WOW! That means I hadn't spent any time with this friend in 30 YEARS THIS MAY! Seemed hard to believe.

We had a wonderful time and all want to do it again soon. I've thought of Carmen repeatedly since our luncheon and am dying to call her again, but I just don't think it's practical to expect that she has time to get together once a month or more. So, I hold off, trying to be appropriate, but anxious to again renew that old friendship.

Earlier this week, I got home from running errands and there was a message on the answering machine from my sister.

"I'm now Andrea Trumbell's friend on Facebook," she announced. I immediately called her back.

"Andrea was MY friend," I nearly screamed into the phone. In fact, she was my BEST friend in Belgium in the third through sixth grades.

"I know! She asked about you."

Andrea's father was a teacher at the International School on base that all the military kids attended. She had a brother just a little older (one year, I think) than my brother, a sister that was the same age as my oldest sister and they were quite good friends, another sister who fell somewhere between two of my sisters, and then Andrea, who was my age. For three years, we spent the night with each other, rode bikes together, and were bosom buddies. Sometime in my early 20's, I had some contact with her. She had moved to the States and lived with her older sister while attending college, then married. The trail went cold about the time she married.

I quickly looked her up on my sister's facebook and sent her a Friend Request. She confirmed me the same day.

This is the thing: We began communicating yesterday. She sent me a message that said "How long-g-g has it been? I have thought of you EVERY SINGLE ST. PATRICKS DAY! Isn't that funny? Tell me all about your life since leaving SHAPE!"

SHAPE, Begium was the military base where my father was assigned. SHAPE stands for Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe. The amazing thing is that Andrea, after 37 years, still remembers that my birthday falls on St. Patrick's Day. She remembers my birthday! How is that even possible. We were in the Sixth Grade when I last saw her. And she remembers me on my birthday every year.

Since I had to stop to wipe the tears off the keyboard, I'll end my Post here. Suffice it to say, running across these two friends after all these years has meant a lot to me. And the fact that, after 30 or more years, the relationship is still important is staggering to me. I feel with both these women like we've never been apart.

I guess that once you build deep relationships, the bond never quite dissolves. Two different women from two completely different seasons of my life, both a lifetime ago, and I still feel like their best friend.

Could God have given me a better Christmas present? I think not.