Friends are the people who leave their signature in the autograph book of your life.
A couple weeks ago, I received a welcome surprise in my email inbox. A friend from my freshman year of college wrote asking if I was the Mary Watson he used to know. Indeed I am, and we spent the next several minutes catching up on the intervening years of our lives and reminiscing over sweet memories. My dad suffered a near fatal heart attack just a couple months into my freshman year and the doctor told Mom to call us kids home in case he didn’t make it. I remember this friend drove me to the small airport in a neighboring city for my first plane ride. The emails were such a simple exchange, but they brightened my whole day.
For all the criticism of social media these days, I am very thankful for the ability to find and connect with friends from long ago. I’ve renewed friendships with kids I went to kindergarten with; grade school, high school and college, too, not to mention former neighbors and other parents with whom I shared the child-raising years.
What is it that makes these friendships so precious?
Nearly a decade ago, I reconnected with a special friend from my senior year in high school. During a trip back home, I was able to spend the better part of a day with him and a mutual close friend. Between the reminiscing and the catching up, I was embarrassed that my teenage self-absorption back then kept me from seeing the pain in his life. But he insists we provided him with acceptance, love and a visible expression of faith.
When I returned home, I remember telling my husband that meeting with those two friends felt as nourishing as a long cold drink of water on a hot, thirsty day.
Is it because I’m getting older that these friendships mean more to me? Recently, I came across my old autograph book. You might remember these, if you’re as old as me. I had a couple of them, filled with signatures and silly sayings from friends and an occasional serious note from teachers and other adults. I read through it and found the name of a friend I’d love to connect with. I hope to one day surprise her with an email or FB post asking if she’s the girl I knew when I was in third grade and she was in sixth. Because she’s one of those friends who left her signature in my autograph book, and in my life.
What about you? Who would you most like to reconnect with? Leave a comment. Or better yet, pass this on and let’s see how many old friends we might be able to connect through a simple blog post!
