In days gone by, I think folks tended to stay in the same communities where they grew up, and thus stayed connected with friends through many years or even throughout their lives. Some folks, like my brother, have managed to do that in today's world. He has shared with me the sorrow of losing a friend with whom he has been friends since at least his teenaged years - and his pastor saying to him that it is really rare and a treasure to still have close friends that you have been with for so long. It is neat to go back home and see folks that knew me all through growing up - even though I've moved far away, they are still a touchstone to my childhood.
With the internet, to some extent we can keep up with friends even though they are far away. I've had fun over the past few days sharing pictures from the school I went to from 2nd-7th grade. Particularly the kids that were in 2nd-3rd grade with me have had special memories of a school that their parents had a hand in organizing, an unconventional school that had its classrooms in the rooms of a plantation house on the James River. I hear teachers today talking about parents who are not very involved in supporting their kids learning; we knew our parents were very concerned about our learning - they made great sacrifices to ensure that we had the best that they could provide. I am thankful for that!
A few friends from that school are on Facebook, so I get to see information about what is going on in their lives now - I get to see pictures of their children and even grandchildren in some cases.
I also am still connected with friends from even further back on Facebook -- my babysitter from before I was in school - Marilyn - is on Facebook, and I've recently seen that she is making a trip to Nicaragua with her church. I can remember that Marilyn would bring her curlers over when she sat for us - and she would let me roll up her hair, and take it down, and roll it up, and take it down. I am sure that I was not gentle or kind, but she always was! I am so excited that she is getting to go to Nicaragua, and I look forward to hearing about her trip through pictures that I see of her and others as they go!
Clearing out our house has enabled me to come across a lot of pictures and newspaper articles and notes that remind me of folks from my past - like the pictures from Chickahominy. They remind me of friends that I haven't thought of in years. It is hard to track down females because most of them change their name when they marry, and even on places like Facebook, women don't always include their maiden names (hey, ladies - think about it - help out those friends who knew you "when"! You can put a maiden name in by going to "General Account Settings" and putting in an "Alternate Name" - I have "Pat Talley" indicated, so people who knew me in school could search by that name and Patti Cartwright's profile will show up).
It is interesting that I have been able to find two friends by tracking down information about their parents - in both cases, an obituary gave me a lead to the friend's married name and city which has helped me to find the friend. Last night I got to talk to my "best friend" from 5th grade - we had such a great conversation and catching up! I think she was amazed that my sleuthing had found her - never underestimate the power of a determined 5th grade best friend!!!
Becky - I'm so glad I found you again, and I hope we get to meet up again at some point!
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