July 12, 1974, I married my first husband, Greg. I had two
bridesmaids, both worked with me at Lesters Diner in Bryan, Ohio while we all
were in high school. Diane was one of the two.
Until today, we had not seen each other since my wedding day.
Last year, while doing a deep clean in preparation for our
move to Minnesota, I came across a journal I had written in my senior year of
high school and into the early years of my marriage. In the journal I had
written about my friendship with Diane and that she was my soul sister. As I
read the entry, I wandered how we had not stayed in touch. Stalker that I am, I
got on Facebook and found her! We have
exchanged a few Messenger notes over the months.
Yesterday my schedule suddenly opened for today, so I sent
her a message and we arranged to meet today at her home in Schoolcraft,
Michigan. I had hoped for a visit of an hour or two to catch up on the past 49
years. Five hours later we parted ways with the hopes that we could connect
again before we left for Minnesota.
Joe and I arrived and were greeted at the front yard by Diane
with her husband Bruce right behind her. Seeing them was amazing (they were
dating each other when Diane was in my wedding). They both made Joe and I feel
very welcomed. We talked and talked and talked. I am not sure if there was ever
a moment of silence. We sat on their back patio surrounded by their beautiful
planter boxes full of plants, flowers, and vegetables, and overlooking their
pool. The weather was just right. Not too hot, not too cool with a slight
breeze.
After about an hour or two (I really have no concept of time
when talking with people – I need to set an alarm on my phone) Bruce and Diane’s
dear friend Marybeth arrived, with snacks, and the next thing we knew the table
was filled with a fruit salad, a caprese salad, and an avocado and tomato like
salsa (think deconstructed guacamole – made by Marybeth).
Within the next hour we discovered that Marybeth is also in
the Human Resources field. One of my favorite topics!
I think Diane is still a soul sister. I know I’d enjoy
getting to know Marybeth better as well. Bruce enjoys reading and they have
also done some traveling including a trip to the middle east. That meant we
could have talked for hours (oh, wait, we did)!
Next thing I knew it was 5:30pm and it was time for us to think about getting back to Coldwater before dusk set in and the deer came out to terrorize motorists.
Parting was harder than I would have anticipated. Lots more to talk about!
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