Hey Friend!

I've recently connected with some old friends from high school via Facebook. This has been one of the most thrilling things for me in recent memory. Yeah, I lead an exciting life.

Every time I think about how long it's been since I graduated high school, I almost want to cry. Where did the time go? Even sadder is the fact that I haven't seen some of my former classmates since graduation night. It's not that I haven't wanted to keep in touch. Our lives just seemed to move in completely different directions. Most of them went to colleges close to our hometown. I wanted to get as far away as possible. I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but I was one of only 2 from my class (that I know of) who came up to the "big city." I wanted to meet new people and have new experiences. Most of us in my graduating class had been together since kindergarten. I felt as if I would never broaden my horizons if I continued to ride along with them into the next phase of our lives.

When I got to the city I met people from all over the country, as well as other parts of the world. I guess I got so caught up with the "newness", I let myself forget about the friends I had always known and who really knew me. I got married, made even more friends and got even more caught up.

I've made some great new friends along the way, but nothing beats having people around you who've been there with you through all the crazy phases of your life. From kicking each other out of the sand box on the playground to the awkward adolescent stage to the wild and crazy teen years. We were always there for each other and always had each others backs. We promised to stay friends and keep in touch after graduation. Next thing you know we're about to celebrate a 20 year reunion and it will likely be the first time some of us have seen each other since that last crazy night when we turned our tassels and threw our caps up in the air.

Thankfully Facebook is bringing us back together and hopefully we can reconnect in real life soon. While I'm truly grateful for the wonderful new friends I've made, I'm equally grateful that after all this time I can send a request to a long lost buddy and have her embrace me with all the enthusiasm she had 18 years ago she when wrote "you'll always be my girl" in my memory book.