Old Friends & Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop 54

Old Friends

This weekend celebrated 30 YEARS since I graduated high school. Gulp! That’s many, many moons!

Because our sweet girls’ dean, who came our senior year, is retiring this year, they had a little get-together to honor her years of service. Other than that, I am sure I would not have attended. But Dean Janet was my second mom during a pivotal time in my life. She helped me, a shy teen, who struggled with some serious issues. She’s one of the good ones.

My old academy and college roommate invited me to stay with her over the weekend. I decided I would, then got cold feet before leaving home. We have not seen each other for twenty years, and have barely talked over these last years. Nothing intentions, just life traveling along different pathways.

What would we talk about? Would we even have anything to say! Two days, a couple hours in the car, and all that time loomed before me. Also–I hate making awkward chit-chat with people I barely remember. So…I was actually feeling very anxious and emotional about going. I didn’t *want to* but I’d committed.

Greg, of course had the obvious answer: “You don’t have to go, you know”, he told me. I already knew he was going to say that. It was a personal battle, and I knew I didn’t have to go. But a tiny little part of me wanted to brave it, to see if we’d reconnect, and I did want to see DJ.

I finally ended up on the road. Then, before I knew it, I was pulling up to Eve’s duplex. Gulp.

One look at her cheery face and I felt much better. One hour in Eve’s house, and I wondered what I’d fretted for. Sometime over the years, shy little Eve had blossomed into a very chatty lady, and I really just got to sit back and listen. She had plenty of interesting tales from her eventful life to tell me.

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Sigh of relief!

The alumni weekend was a bit like I anticipated. Lots of people, not a lot from our class, but a small representation. We wandered around campus and marveled at how the kids have moved into the modern world, so different from our quiet little haven of yesteryear.

We also noted how the former staff must have been our ages or younger, when we’d attended. I saw them all as old back then. With chagrin, I realized that the teens today no doubt look at us the same way. Not such a warm, cozy thought.

Our best moments yesterday came from just hanging out with DJ (Dean Janet) in her office, and recounting some of the old memories. I found out I was basically clueless about many of the shenanigans going on back then. I was the senior hall RA, but lived my life quietly. I didn’t have a lot of drama, and I didn’t know everyone else’s drama. Either that, or I just forgot, which is a real possibility.

It’s good to reconnect.

No–it won’t be the same as before. Too much time and life moments change us into something way different from who we were before. I certainly hope so–who would want to stay the same as their teenage selves?

The struggles that we’ve gone though–and all of us have gone through many–they’ve made us into what we are now.

I enjoyed going back. But I did not want to stay.

It’s fun to see smiling faces and hear about where the roads have taken old friends. But at the end of the day, the only road I want to travel on is the one that leads me back home. Imperfect as it is, it’s where I belong. I know who lives there, and that’s where God led us.

Lord, help me to be always content to travel the road that you have planned for me.

Have a blessed day!

Laurie

Welcome to the Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop!

The Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop

This is a place to share some love and spread some sunshine!

The focus of this blog hop will be: anything related to making our homes more sunny and happy! If that’s through homemade cooking, a health tip that will help another, homesteading tips, homeschool successes or real-life struggles, or just whatever God is impressing you with in your home journey, please share it!

Guidelines for the Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop 🌤

1. Click on the “Add your Link” Button below and add a great image of your project or recipe. Make sure you link to the page of your family friendly post – not the main page of your blog.
2. Link up to three posts each week.
3. Try to visit at least a few other blogs at the party. Be sure to leave a comment to let them know you stopped by.
4. Link your post back to the Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop. If the hop isn’t linked to your post then you cannot be featured. All featured posts will be shared on my Pinterest/Social Media.
5. Please link up posts that you haven’t linked to the hop before. You are welcome to link old posts from your blog.
6. By joining the party, you are giving me permission to use one photo from your post with a link back to your site if it is selected as one of next week’s Features.
7. This is a family-friendly link up! You are welcome to share home and family-oriented blog posts, focusing on homeschooling, homesteading and homemaking. Christian-friendly content, highlighting healthy life choices to encourage others!

Features for this week!

Natural Remedies for Common Ailments

Food Storage: Back to Basics 101

The Ultimate Guide to Spring Cleaning

Thank you to everyone who came to participate. ♥️ Have a great week, and feel free to share the hop with others!