Friends From High School

Wow, I guess I thought I didn't have any old friends but this weekend, two of my pals from ninth grade stayed with me and we reconnected. The years can change a lot in a person's life. I was completely delighted to find that Tracy and Toni had lived full and exciting lives. I did feel a connection to both of them. It's strange but even though millions of years have passed, I still felt like we were united.

Sure, I was worried. Especially when Toni mentioned that she could sleep in her van with her rescue dog. I pictured a yellow VW van complete with painted pot leaves and purple peace signs with smoke billowing out the windows (you can guess what kind of smoke). I pictured her leveling the van on my hilly rain slicked street with my neighbors cautiously peering out. When she pulled up in a soccer mom van, I really had to laugh at myself.

Tracy was always very outgoing and sweet-natured. When I picked her up at the airport, she launched into talking, but then she always did that. I remember I used to love to listen to her. Even though we were the same age, she always seemed so wise. It turns out that we were all from dysfunctional families and we needed something extra, some place to call home, someone to help and heal our hearts. I think we found some of that in each other.

Tracy became a real estate agent. Toni became a massage therapist. I became a stay at home mom.

Toni had the greatest memory for the details of all the adventures that we had. Tracy and I pretty much forgot everything. Like much of my childhood, that year with Tracy and Toni was a blur. Did my missing chunks of memory stem from the amount of drinking that I did or is it just the passage of time. Maybe it stems from not wanting to remember how lonely I felt as a child. I do recall laughing with Tracy and Toni back then and that it felt good to be with them. I can hang onto those chunks and let the other ones slip away because I've already come to peace with my childhood. It feels good to remember laughter and connection and it sure felt good to reconnect with two wonderful women who probably helped save my life.

Cheers to you Tracy and Toni. And, there was something about the chicken arm? But, I completely forgot what it was. Oh well, cheers to you and the chicken arm, what ever that may mean.