Not too long ago a dear friend, well actually, my oldest friend whom I have known since I was three, contacted me and said that she would be in North Carolina this month. She wanted to know if it might be possible to get together for dinner, as she and her honey, whom I had never met, would be staying not far from here in Raleigh for one night.
I suggested that I cook dinner, and that they cancel their hotel reservations and stay here instead. She graciously accepted my invitation and on Sunday they arrived. To say that we had not seen each other for awhile would be a gross understatement, as it had been about 36 years. The last time we had seen each other we both lived in New York, and my daughter, now 38, was only about a year and a half old.
We kept in touch over the years. Holidays came and birthdays went. Careers were made and retirements took place. Divorces occurred, homes were purchased and sold, and a generation of children grew up and started their own families. More than half of our lives have passed since we last saw each other. I moved to Florida and then to North Carolina, where I remarried and then retired. Debbi retired to Arizona where she lives with her long-time love.
As they walked into our house, introductions were made and hugs given. The years vanished into thin air. Suddenly we were three years old again, and nothing had ever really changed at all. That's the way friendship is.
My fourth birthday...
...with Debbi helping me blow out the candles.
And no, that teapot is not growing out of my head.
Mom was not the best photographer.
I guess you can see where I get it from...
My fifth birthday....
When we were about seven.
I doubt that we were really shoveling snow...
Here we are in third or fourth grade.
By this time, Debbi had beautiful long hair.
I had funky pink glasses.
(The little blond girl in front, Maureen,
became my other best friend,
and both she and Debbi were in my wedding
party when I married my first husband.)
Debbi said we should hold hands for a photo,
just like in the old days.
I said that the only difference now
was that we were getting old and
we needed the assistance to stand still!
The guys must have thought we were nuts.
We are.
I don't think that we changed all that much in sixty years,
do you?
We ate breakfast out the next morning, and then they had to leave to visit Debbi's sister on the coast before they started heading back to Arizona. I wish we could have had more time together. I hope that we see each other soon, and that this time it doesn't take 36 years.
By the way, you can see another story about Debbi and I in one of my previous posts, seen
here.
Have a wonderful weekend!
