Several weeks ago I was in Croton, NY (upstate)  for a reunion with high school friends.  This trip was planned months ago and I immediately responded “yes” with folks I have not seen in 30+ years!  On my way to the “gathering”  I was filled with excitement and anxiousness.  My mind was infiltrated with “what if’s and questions.  Meeting for the first time in years it felt a little awkward and became very comfortable as memories flooded in  of the past.

There is something to be said about rekindling relationships from long ago and what I refer to as the formative years.  When I say reformative years I am referring to “teenage years.”  As anyone knows “teenage” years can be tumultuous.  For me “I felt like I never fit it.”   Fast forward:  Yes, the “teenager self” still resides within me and she has learned to laugh and not take things as serious.  I’ve learned and continue to learn to be honest, authentic and vulnerable.  I say “thank you” to this teenager’s heart and what she has learned about herself over the years.

It was a wonderful experience of “catching up with one another and getting to know each other again.  It did not take long to bond and find that familiarity with one another.  Someone once said to me we are more alike than different.  I believe that statement to be true.  It is through our humanity that we find love.  We all feel hurt, sadness, and pain and yet it is through this we discover joy, happiness and fulfillment.

A song comes to mind of our time together in Croton, NY.   “Thank you for being a friend. Traveled down a road and back again.  Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant.

I love you and thank you for loving me…         your friend,  Anne