Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.
~Flavia Weedn, Forever, © Flavia.com
In 40 plus years of living I have said hello and goodbye to many people. Some I was happy to see go, and others to this day I wish we had more time together. Time to know each other better, more time because simply life was cut too short or simply because we had only begun to scratch the surface. (it makes me think Heaven will be a great big friendly reunion!) True to the quote above, I will never be the same. For me there have been some very deep and lasting impressions made. Memories that I will never forget, things we learned together and many things I realized I learned after they were gone.
Call me nostalgic, curious, or simply just nosey I would love to know where some of these people are now. What they are doing, how they have chosen to live their lives, are they happy.
There is Doreen, a Brownie billet that came to stay for a week - ALL THE WAY from Lac La Hache, in grade 5 that was like the end of the earth. We hit it off the moment she walked through the door, but after a few letters back and forth when she returned home we lost touch.
Diane Vanderly, who was part of my life from elementary school to the early years of Jr. High, then we ended up at different schools, and in grade 8 or 9 her family ended up moving.... I have no idea where, I had heard rumors of Ontario. But????
Janet Erickson, a friend through Brownies and Girl Guides, and also during High School. She was one of the people in those years that truly inspired me, she despite being totally blind lived life to the fullest, she skied competitively, travelled the world and succeeded in a difficult world.
Then there is the group of teens I spent the summer of 1982 with in Australia, the things I learned that summer changed my life forever. Most of those lessons came from living with a group of 30 teens from all over North America. I have managed to keep in contact with a few of these dear friends, but others have been lost. I would love to know what they are up to, where they are living, what God has done in their lives since that amazing summer. Where are they in their faith, John Ross, Elizabeth Buck, Billly Nevils, Ken Weatherl, Bethany Saxby (our Austrailan host), Stacy Perreault, Steve Baker. . . oh this list could go on and on.
There are so many more, some who's names escape me at the moment, people that have come in and out of youth groups and church doors over the years. I wonder if they ever wonder about me, what I am doing, or if I am even a blip on their memory screen. I have been blessed, I can say that even though there have been some serious twists and turns in the road that I would not have planned, life has been pretty good. I am happy with where I am in life right now, happy with the choices I have made along the way. I have lived some dreams, created others, faced some serious challenges and won, each path is an opportunity to learn and grow, I can say that I have enjoyed most of the ride this far. There is very little I would change. Sure there are things that I wish were different, but most of those are far from my control. There are still places I would like to visit, things I would like to do and as long as there is road ahead I am going to live it and enjoy along the way the people I meet and the places I go.
Yup, these things have been known to keep me awake at night. Pondering. . . searching online.. Every once in a while I will pop a name into the Facebook search engine and just see who I might find.. sometimes I am successful, more often not. When you are looking for someone with a common mane there are 1000's listed at times or looking for girl friends, if they have married and changed their names, makes it more of a challenge. I am in awe of how small the world has become with the help of modern technology. I am thankful that my girls have tools that will help them keep in touch with their friends no matter where in the world they may end up. These will not be wonderings that keep them awake at night.
I will continue on occasion to search, but more than that I will be thankful for the footprints each of these past friends have left on my life. Aiding in making me the person I am today, I thank them for the memories, the laughter and the tears. My life is richer because so many people have come and gone....
Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.
~Author Unknown
