{"id":689,"date":"2010-06-29T16:37:39","date_gmt":"2010-06-29T21:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karencasey.wordpress.com\/?p=451"},"modified":"2010-06-29T16:37:39","modified_gmt":"2010-06-29T21:37:39","slug":"connecting-with-old-friends-what-a-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=689","title":{"rendered":"Connecting with old friends.  What a joy. . ."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I just returned from a week end in Chicago with fourteen dear friends from high school. \u00a0There are so many sweet memories running through my mind that I don&#8217;t know which one to savor first and longest. \u00a0Starting with my roommate is no doubt a good beginning. \u00a0Ellen is her name and we hadn&#8217;t been particularly close in high school but we were in the same group. \u00a0We called ourselves &#8220;the Superlatives.&#8221; \u00a0We were certain then, that we were, <strong>and deserved to be, <\/strong>the envy of all the other girls in the school. \u00a0Needless to say we made a few enemies along the way. \u00a0But it&#8217;s now nearly 55 years later and we have mellowed. \u00a0Thank goodness, we have mellowed.<\/p>\n<p>Life has a way of humbling you. \u00a0We have all had our crosses to bear, our barriers to full acceptance in one arena or another. \u00a0But we are survivors. \u00a0With a sense of humor, we have survived the troubled times. \u00a0And this \u00a0brings me to what I want to say about my roommate for the week end, Ellen. \u00a0Just a couple of months ago she lost her husband to alzheimers. \u00a0Because he was young, having just retired a few short years ago, it was devastating to her and their children. \u00a0But putting one foot in front of the other is what she and they have had to do. \u00a0And they have done it. \u00a0They have been courageous and comforted by the knowledge that nothing stays the same and that all is well despite appearances, sometimes.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned earlier, Ellen and I had not been particularly close in high school. There were 21 of us in the group and most had 3 or 4 whom they drew closest too. \u00a0She had hers and I mine. \u00a0But for the week end we had each other and the time was perfect for two women with very different life experiences to grow in appreciation of one another. \u00a0My journey into alcoholism and drug addiction and then recovery is a far cry from the journey she has been on, but it was evident that the details of the past were not as important as the pleasures we were experiencing in the present.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s how it should always be. \u00a0Let the past be past. \u00a0Sink your teeth into the present. \u00a0It&#8217;s the &#8220;gift&#8221; we have been given for the moment. \u00a0Ellen shared many tender moments about her husband, Bud. \u00a0And I listened with intention. \u00a0That&#8217;s the proper role always, for every one of us. \u00a0Being each others&#8217; witness is the kindest offering we can make.<\/p>\n<p>The encounters with all the rest of the women, plus two of their husbands, sent me home with a renewed spirit for the work I am &#8220;assigned to&#8221; at this very moment. \u00a0Knowing, as I do, that our paths have been selected for us, our experiences too, allows me to breath easily on this lovely afternoon. \u00a0On every afternoon, as a matter of fact. \u00a0We are not accidental friends. \u00a0We are, each one of us, threads in the tapestry of life that 21 women have been spinning for seventy years now.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks be to God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I just returned from a week end in Chicago with fourteen dear friends from high school. \u00a0There are so many sweet memories running through my mind that I don&#8217;t know which one to savor first and longest. \u00a0Starting with my roommate is no doubt a good beginning. \u00a0Ellen is her name and we hadn&#8217;t been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[51,59,72,84,120,214],"class_list":["post-689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-circle-of-family-and-friends-you-and-your-personal-community","tag-connections","tag-destiny","tag-encounters","tag-fellow-travelers","tag-intentional-journeys","tag-we-are-where-we-need-to-be"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Connecting with old friends. 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