It was the perfect ending to our too short vacation. A beautiful, sunny day at the beach – collecting shells, riding waves and burying legs in the sand.
The best part of the day, however, was the reason for our trip to the beach. A few weeks ago, I reconnected with a friend of mine from about 28 years ago. Someone I had lost touch with in my pre-teen years and found through LinkedIn last month. We went to meet her and her family, as well as another childhood friend I hadn’t seen since I moved out of town in 6th grade.
We spent much of our time reminiscing about the old days, and names from the distant past that I hadn’t thought about in decades came back to life again. We also caught each other up on our lives since elementary school – we’ve all taken very different paths, endured our share of challenges, and yet for all of our differences, we’ll always share this very special bond of childhood.
Never in a million years would I have guessed that I’d see these two friends again – and here we were – enjoying an afternoon together almost 30 years after the last time we enjoyed an afternoon together. Life is certainly full of pretty incredible surprises…
My first real vacation since starting the new job in January. Am I excited? You bet! Overall, it’s been an interesting, but long, seven months. Lots of challenges – lots of good people – lots of stories.
I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with the girls – if the weather cooperates, we should have an excellent time. The vacation will be capped off next weekend by a visit with my long-lost, but just recently found, friend from 30 years ago, with whom I reconnected after seeing her profile on LinkedIn. Pretty cool, actually.
Other than the Great Wolf Lodge adventure early next week, the other big event is the delivery of Sophie’s big girl bed and new mattress on Thursday. She’s still pretty ambivalent about the whole idea, and she’s going to have a lot of crib separation anxiety. But the time has come. The end of an era and the beginning of a new one…her young life will hereafter be divided into the BB (“before bed”) days and the AB (“after bed”) days.
A Mom's Ramblings About the Marvels & Mishaps of Parenting, the Joys of Family Travel & the Writing Life
