Where has the time gone?

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.~~ Richard Bach

Normally when I travel, I lock myself in my hotel room in the evenings and simply enjoy solitude. As any parent of young children can attest, peace is a rare blessing. So, I usually take advantage of the rare opportunity to watch something on T.V. besides Spongebob or read a book and enjoy the luxury of a long, hot bath without interruption. But, during this week’s business trip, I didn’t act like a hermit. The week was filled with visiting old friends. And, wow, what a walk down memory lane.

Cody, Me, Suzzette

The last time I visited Marietta, I found out that a friend from high school, Suzzette, lived in Kennesaw which is only 10 minutes away. I contacted her during my last trip and we agreed that we would have dinner the next time I was in town. She and her husband invited me over for dinner at their lovely home. It was great catching up on things particularly since my 20-year high school reunion is this year. The last time I saw Suzzette was at our 10-year reunion. Today, she is a stay at home Mom to her 2.5 year old son, Cody. And, she operates a Pampered Chef business.

Me & Kerry (1991) Field Training

Then, there is my friend Kerry whom I met years ago while preparing for Field Training while I was a cadet in ROTC at Auburn. And, then we ended up going to Vandenberg AFB, CA, for six weeks of training during the summer of 1991. After that, we parted ways and I returned to Auburn and he returned to Georgia. We lost track of one another after that. Then, I received a business e-mail by chance last week from him where he replied to everyone not knowing that I was one of the recipients in the original courtesy copy list. I married a couple of years after I met Kerry so he would’ve never known how to find me on an e-mail list by my last name, particularly since we have to use our first name with e-mail addresses and he only knew me by my middle name. So, you can say, it was pure chance that we found one another again. As it turned out, he lives and works nearby to Marietta so we were able to connect again this week as well. Unlike my friend Shawn, Kerry had more hair than I remembered him having. Of course, we were at Field Training back then and most of the guys cut their hair extremely short. We ate lunch and caught up on life this week. He’s an accomplished pilot now and he owes me a flight on one of my next trips to Marietta!

Kerry also educated me about the “big chicken” in Marietta while trying to give me directions to the conference center where my business meeting was held this week. I couldn’t believe I had never heard of the “big chicken” before now. But, I found it so interesting that I snapped a shot of it. Over the years the "big chicken" structure created at the corner of Highway 120 and U. S. 41 has been used as a landmark for directions by a lot of the local people.

The "Big Chicken" in Marietta

Halloween 1990 (me in the Auburn football uniform and Shawn as a pirate)

My other friend that I haven’t seen in a long time is Shawn. I was his “little sister” at the Sigma Pi Fraternity at Auburn University. Shawn graduated in 1992 from Auburn and we lost touch with one another after that. Like others mentioned above, we also didn’t do a very good job of following up with one another and then I happened to run into him in downtown Atlanta last year. I was in Atlanta viewing office furniture at vendor show rooms when I happened to pass Shawn as I was walking to lunch. Unlike Kerry, Shawn had a little less hair than when I knew him. Shawn was bald to be exact. So, I almost didn’t recognize him as he walked by. Shawn was married last fall and I went to dinner with him and his wife. It was awesome catching up with Shawn and meeting his new bride. We ate dinner at Soho and the food was phenomenal! His wife knew the head chef and the chef hooked us up with some great appetizers and dessert. Boy, did I have a difficult time finding an old photo of us to share from college. In most, we were at the beach or at a fraternity party with alchohol in hand. Yes, I had my wild days too!

Colonel Butler and Me at my commissioning ceremony - June 1994

Additionally, the Colonel that pinned on my 2nd Lieutenant rank when I was commissioned as an officer in the Air Force was in the conference meeting that I attended this week. Colonel Butler retired a while back and is still doing work for the Air Force as a contractor. He even attended my wedding many moons ago. It is great to still be able to maintain contact with him as even today he is a great mentor.

Me and Colonel Butler (retired)

I feel so blessed to have known all of these people and to call them my friends. What a rush of memories this week! Where has the time gone? It seems like it was just yesterday that:

--Suzzette and I were graduating from high school.

--Kerry and I were riding home on a bus together after a grueling six weeks of boot camp

--Shawn and I were partying and drinking way too many beers as college students

--Colonel Butler was mentoring me as a cadet instead of working beside me as a fellow colleague

Life has a way of passing by too quickly and we lose touch with many people who were and are special in our life. Seeing them all this week reminded me of how important it is to stay connected with those that we love and care about. It is so easy to not do that as the business of life just seems to take over most of the time. So, my advice to anyone reading this is to make time in your life as much as possible to connect with friends and people who are important to you. And, appreciate them all for what they have brought to your life.