Friday, September 10, 2010

Just Hello

Well, it has been a busy summer. I am ready for things to slow down a little!

We had a wonderful visit with friends we haven't had contact with for over 30 years. Why over 30 years? Mainly because I am such a bad letter writer!

We were in Key West, Florida for 5 years during the 70's, made friends with lots of Navy couples but 2 very special couples. The six of us went to church together, shared meals and were family for each other while so far away from home. One of the gals lived with me for 10 months while our husbands were gone to sea together in the West Pacific during Vietnam. We were all pretty close. We all left the Key West at different times and left the Navy at different times, moving to various states. Some of us kept in touch for a long time and there were a couple of actual visits at the beginning. I am very bad about writing but quick to pick up the phone and call. We moved a lot after getting out of the Navy, same area but we moved about every 9 months for the first few years. Long story short, life gets busy, I always had good intentions but finally lost track and they couldn't find us because our phone number was always unlisted. Long time later I started looking online for my friends ever so often without much success.

One day when cleaning out an old box of stuff while looking for a lost chocolate pie recipe, I came across an old rolodex (remember those??) from the 80's. On a whim, I flipped through it to see who was in there and found my friend's name and phone number. I thought, "It has been ages, they couldn't possibly have the same phone number" but I tried it and guess what? It is still their number!!

So, in a round about way, both couples were able to come to our location and we visited for several days, catching up with our lives and talking as if it was just yesterday that we saw each other last. It was so wonderful! And this time we won't lose each other.

So, keep track of those good old friends, you will be glad you did.