The Gift of Friendship

I have had a very interesting phenomenon acting in my life over the past year and a half. Old friends, that I had completely lost contact with, have starting reappearing. It started a little over a year ago when I heard from a childhood friend from out of state. We had been good, little friends and then her family moved away. She came back to Oregon and we attended the same college but then, life happened, time passed and we stopped communicating. Still, when we got together again, it was as if no time had gone by. It has been a joy to spend time with her. Then, my cousin moved to the area and although we weren't really close as kids, we have taken the opportunity to get to know each other better and it has been a blessing. But wait, the ball kept rolling. While at my high school reunion, I learned that a friend from my teen years was living in Eugene ... another reconnect. Then there is Facebook. I have found and reconnected to an old college friend and a woman who was actually my maid of honor in my wedding. Again, I had lost contact with these women when they moved from the area and our lives got busy with raising children and all of the other happenstances of life. Still, when we start talking, the years melt away and they are essentially the same people I knew. It seems that nature does indeed abhor a vacuum because when my children were raised and left home I was lonely. The universe seems to have answered in the form of a windfall of old and dear friends. The added bonus to all of this is that through some of these women, I have met new friends as well. I think that I am very lucky to have the opportunity to reconnect with so many great women. I hope that I bring something to the table as well. I have learned two very valuable lessons from this experience: the first, never lose touch with your women friends because you will need them someday; and the second, when you're yearning for something and you open yourself to it, the universe will answer. I'm feeling extremely lucky to have these second chances in my life.