Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...

I am a cling on. I admit it. I am emotionally attached to every card and letter I have ever received, I hold onto bills so I can look at them from time to time and say, "wow, XXXX sure is more expensive these days," I keep magazine clippings I swear I am going to read, show programs, the ceramic dinosaur I made in 4th grade, the entire set of Bobbsey Twin books hat I bought with my own hard earned cash. Hell, my car is 15 years old AS IS the tshirt I am wearing (there is an event ad on it). It took a 17' truck to move this crap from Texas 6 1/2 years ago...I am really not one of those freaks that belong on the Dr. Phil show. I am capable of stacking very neatly, as my 100th post can attest.

Of all this schtuff I have accumulated, I prize my friends the most. The first 7 school years, I was in 6 different schools and I have a smattering of acquaintances from those years, mainly thanks to Facebook. By the time 8th grade rolled around, and my 7th school, I was adept at making friends quickly - who knew how long I would be there...and then I stayed for 9th grade, and then I went to high school with the same kids, then OMG, I freakin' graduated with the same kids!?! The bond is like cement in some cases! I still see CC regularly, Allison less often. Kim touches base every so often, as does Greg and a few others. Gracie Lucie and me have been writing back and forth for years. At the 10 year reunion I reconnected with Laurie E, Janie and Steve and a few others, and a few more at the 20 year reunion...And now that I am on Facebook, (it's not just for kids), I found even more of those people who were at one time a vital part of my life, and I am so glad to have found them again - even a couple of the boys I had crushes on (who are now happily married, but with kids and thinning hair - man am I glad I dodged THAT bullet), even a guy from elementary school who inspired me to learn how to ski is now back "in my life." so to speak.

Not only do I love my job because they still give me a paycheck every week, and so far it seems relatively recession proof, but the most awesomest thing is I get to travel all over the country for conferences and meetings. Even after being with the company for 11 1/2 years, I have YET to go to a city where I don't have a friend or a family member who will come have dinner with me or show me the sites! Last summer, I saw BP from My Three Sons while I was in Denver for a conference - we were roommates sophmore year and she found me on Facebook (and then I read her blog, and then Charmaine's and then I started my own and here we are!) Are we a coupla smiley broads or what!?

Now, the last time I saw Gracie Lucie was in 1984, when CC and I ran into her at King Soopers. We had met in 8th grade, and shared a locker, a Girl Scout troupe, and then went on to High School together, where we got into varying amounts of trouble, depending on who tells the story. I do thank her still for calling my mother for me when I got hit in the parking lot, and I am TRULY sorry about your purse!! Anyway, the last time we saw each other, we were in different colleges, and then she ran off to Alaska, got married, moved to Alabama and had kids, in that order, I might add! She drove down to Birmingham while I was there last week! I was so freaked out when she got off the elevator at my hotel - she looked exactly the same, although I didn't remember her being so much taller than me!

We had a great time, reminiscing and she brought her yearbook, so we googled everyone we could think of. As I mentioned, she'd been my locker partner a couple of times (they were assigned by last name and we had the same last initial), and we helped break my mom of ever wanting to be a Girl Scout leader again, we had French class together, (when she actually showed up to class), and we survived Composition for the College Bound (the class that taught me how to write, although I am confident it is not evident here....) and Helmet Head (our teacher)! Then we went out to dinner at PF Changs, and even though the wait was over an hour, we had a great time - and dinner was fabulous - she wrote about it much better than I could on her blog. Back at the hotel, we closed the bar down (well, maybe not), and she spent the night, then took me to the airport on Sunday morning! I learned some things I didn't know in high school...and my mama always liked her, cuz she was the "NICE" one... but your secrets are safe Gracie Lucie!!

So, here I am, on the slippery side of 40, in my umpteenth job, in my umpteenth apartment, in the umpteenth city I have lived in, and once again I am reminded of the kevlar-like strength of the thread that keeps me connected to who I am, who I have always been. Thanks for coming up Gracie Lucie!!!! You are in my heart forever...please remember me for another 20 years, OK!?