Old Friends are the Best

I am blessed. In so many ways I can't even keep track. I lose sight of this often. Today was a great day. I got together with an old friend. We have known each other almost 30 years. We raised kids together, laughter together, cried together, supported each other in times of sorrow and loss, celebrated each other in life's triumphs. 

I first met Jill when we worked together at State Farm. Who could have know this friendship would remain strong and constant through all the years and moves and miles. When she first moved away, to CO, I thought this friendship was done. Somehow, through God's guidance I know, we stayed in touch and even visited each other. For me, this was a first. She was my first real non-hometown friend. I was fortunate to have her move to my hometown for a period of time. Now I know she would not say this was fortunate to her, but it was life saving to me. Again, God played a hand. It was a time I would not have made it through without her. Even as she moved on to Omaha, and eventually back to CO, and I to IA and MN, we remained connected. 

There were numerous moves and life altering events through these 30 years, but we have kept reconnecting. Each time it's like a day hasn't gone by, we don't miss a beat, we're remembering old times and making new memories. Today was particularly surreal. Visiting my daughter, whom Jill has known since birth, and introducing her to my granddaughter, has brought a new chapter to our story. We are women who raised children at the same time, took care of each other's kids, and now we are starting the grandparent stage (or at least I am, I always did the kid thing first I guess). It's wonderful!

She sees me like no one else, because she knows me like no one else. We met at young adults, with big ambitions for life and family and careers. Through our thirties we shared of our kids grow up and shared our stories through the miles. Now our kids are all grown and we compare our hopes and dreams for them. And through all that we've watched each other grow and changed, survive tough times, cried on each other's shoulders, through the phone many times, and celebrated when we came out on the other side better than when we went in. 

She doesn't know this, but I admire her strength, her faith, her wisdom and her visionary outlook into what the future could be, always.  Where I am weak, she picks me up, carries me for a period, then helps me walk on my own again. Where I am strong, she supports and encourages me to be even stronger. I wish I had her strength. We love each other's children like they are our own. Our story will never be over. When we pass on to a better place, I have no doubt we will find each other at the pearly gates. Whoever goes first will be waiting for the other with open arms and a "What took you so long? I have so much to tell you!"

We are family. Not by blood. Not by marriage. By choice.

The Spring Goodbyes

I look forward to spring with renewed faith and energy every year. That might be the teacher talking, but when spring comes around I know soon it will be summer and I can catch up on chores around the house that have been overlooked because of the pile of assignments or tests I need to attend to, I can do more leisure reading, not just reading my computer manuals or Accounting textbooks, but most importantly, I can catch up on lost sleep!

While there is much to be happy about, spring is always a time of goodbyes. Teaching High School has taught me to appreciate the time I have with my students, my kids, because one day they will graduate and move on with their lives, and our relationship will never be the same. I don't say this in a "feel sorry for me" sort of way, it is a fact. I get to see these students everyday, spend at least one hour with them, and hear about everything going on in their lives from class stuff, to sports, to who is dating whom, to what's happening at home. This is what is never the same, the day to day conversations.

I have a group of students this year that are particularly special to me (do I say that every year? I might, I don't know). These students I have seen grow from the time I had them in Tech7 class. Even as I type this my eyes tear over at the thought of them graduating. I care for them so much, some I even wanted to adopt at one time, I want the best for them and I will always have their back if they need me.

Students are not the only people that leave in the spring, teachers also leave. They get married, move because a spouse gets transferred, or simply move on to another district that has seen how great they are and scooped them up away from us. It's the same with these teachers, I won't see them everyday, hang out after school, socialize with them, at least not like it has been. We'll keep in touch, I know we will, it will just be different.

So while I am looking forward to summer, selfishly, I am also sad to see summer come, selfishly. I wish all my kids, and my friends, the very best, today, tomorrow and always.

Nostalgia

I was sitting at home Saturday night flipping through the channels and came across The History of the Eagles on CNN of all channels, parts I and II. Now I have always been a fan of the Eagles (seeing them in concert is a bucket list item I didn't get to do) but never realized all that I did not know.

What was most amazing to me was the song writing abilities of Glenn Frey and Don Henley. There are no songwriters today, not like these two were. To put words to music and have meaning and depth and heart, there is something special in that. And any listener who absorbs the music creates their own meaning and relationship with the melody. Anytime they hear that song, it transports them back to a time, a place, a memory. 

January took so many artists from this world, I can only imagine how wonderful the next world has to be. And when there is loss, I tend to have a period of wallow and regret. The realization that there will be no new songs for this world by a group that has had such an impact. I will search the internet and learn more about each of these people, buy music from these artists that I don't already have, shed some tears, and be transported to a different place and memory that each song gives me. Thank you to the songwriters for giving me this.

While I have many favorites, Wasted Time hits pretty close to the top. So many underlying meanings in the verses, so many times in a person's life you can ask yourself if what you've been doing was a waste of time or not. I don't pretend to have any of those answers, and on a good day I believe there are no regrets, only life lessons that have put each of us on the path we were meant to be. Where I am today is not what I thought my life would have been when this song was released in 1976 (and considering I was only 7) and I don't know what the future holds, but it's my life, and it hasn't been Wasted Time.