Catching up with friends

Yesterday, I treated myself to a matinee of Oliver! at the Temple Theatre in Sanford, NC.  I have never seen anything there before, but have had friends work there in the past.  Actually, that is why I went to see this show.  My friend Steve was in it.  Marcia asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to go catch the show with her and I'm glad I did.

The show itself was a lot of fun, but I'll blog about that at a later time.  The best gift was getting to catch up with friends I had not seen in a long time.  Marcia, Steve and I were all in the same BFA class at UNCG some 20+ years ago.  I had not seen Marcia in about 10 years, but we had been keeping up through FB and actual letter writing.  I had not seen Steve in over 15 years since we randomly had lunch one day at Friendly Center.

In some ways, it was as if time had stood still.  We got a bite to eat after the show and sat around the table catching up and talking theatre.  We all three basically look the same as we did 20 years ago except for a few gray hairs.  Except for Marcia, who seems to never age LOL  It was very reminiscent of all of those times we would go out after shows or rehearsals and hang out.  Some of our conversations sounded exactly the same!

Things have changed for all of us in the last 20 years.  Parents have passed away, careers have changed, relationships have changed.  But the core of our friendships are still there and that was pretty amazing to me.  As I am attempting to get back into real life, moments like these are not only precious, but vital.  It felt good to have actual conversations with real people face to face.  Not once did any of us pull out our phones to check whatever it is that really didn't need checking in the first place.  It was great!

I am ready for more such events in my life.  And I don't want to let 15 years go by without seeing the ones I care about again.  Life is too short and it means to much.

Have a blessed day