| it's been awhile 08.11.03 |
| Sometimes it�s easy to forget how old I am and just how many years have flown by. My 10-year high school reunion is coming up in two years, and the anniversary of my college graduation hits its five-year mark next May. My memories of church camp at Camp Alta are in the forefront of my mind, as I replay skit practices where the girls got kidnapped by the Evil Wong-Ones back when I was in elementary school. Fast forward to the high school years at church camp playing Concentration Camp, which required us to slither on our bellies on the damp soil under cabins, just to avoid the revealing flashlights of the counselors/guards. Swimming at the old house and spraying one another with tail-less My Little Ponies seems so vivid. I also remember panicking as my first hamster Porky burrowed into the grass, and I thought she�d disappear in there forever if I didn�t grasp her wriggly body. That was in 1986. I also remember being in GA, the elementary school girls� youth group, and getting hooked up with a penpal from our �Mother Church� in LA. K. and I began writing each other, sending each other long letters about the boys we had crushes on and other friendship issues. The letters kept coming even through high school, when we exchanged professional photographs from the tennis team or cheerleading. Prom pictures came soon after. We were closely tied with one another�s lives, despite never having met in person. In college when using e-mail was more popular, we stopped writing letters and moved on, though much more sporadically. Soon, all contact stopped. In the past few years, we resumed infrequent e-mails, maybe one or two a year. When I moved to LA, I gave her my new info, but didn�t know when we�d meet up. This past Saturday, she was in my area and called me up, so we met up for dinner. She brought a friend she was visiting, so I brought M. along. It wasn�t even weird to think that I had never met her in person but have �known� her for probably 15 years or so. There was no awkwardness, so uncomfortable introductions. It was just like we were friends reuniting, but also getting reacquainted. I don�t know what kind of friends we are now, or what kind of friends we will be in 10 years, but if we�ve lasted this long, I�m sure we�ll continue keeping in touch somehow. Happy birthday to my pop and to Alonso! |
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