Comments on: Unexpected

By: Anya

Anya — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:24:29 +0000

But six months or even a year pass in the blink of an eye. – Jennie

How true. Actually 20 or more years seem to pass much quicker than I could have expected.

Thank you, Tiffany. Your experience is an important reminder to us all. Don’t put off until tomorrow or next week to reach out to those we care about.

Pam, thank you for sharing your story regarding Lorna. For all its flaws, Facebook is so valuable for keeping in touch. I am sure you will always treasure your visit with Lorna.

By: Lily@IW

Lily@IW — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:43:37 +0000

I am sorry for you loss Tiffany. It sounds like the memories you have of the two of you are good ones, I’m sure they were to her too. I hope they bring you some comfort.

Pam, thanks for sharing your story too. What a special time you made for your friend.

By: Jennie@IW

Jennie@IW — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:21:11 +0000

Tiffany, I’m so sorry to hear about your friend. It really is a reminder that I need to work on maintaining connections with people I care about. We had a shakeup at work over the past few years, layoffs, etc. I was close to some of the people who ended up losing their jobs and was sure I’d be in touch with them all of the time. But six months or even a year pass in the blink of an eye. I’m going to call my friend Laura today. Thank you for this.

By: Samantha@IW

Samantha@IW — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:55:20 +0000

I’m sorry Tiffany. The sting and the shock are painful things. A few months ago I found out that one of my friends from high school had been killed in a car accident. I found out on facebook of all ways. I had to read it a few times to make sure I was understanding.

I wish I had some other words of comfort, but I don’t. Hang in there and thank you for sharing such a personal thing with us.

By: Pam@IW

Pam@IW — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:43:42 +0000

Tiffany,

I am so sorry for you loss and thank you for allowing us to share this post from your blog. When I read this post it really hit home for me. In October of 2008 , I flew home for a long weekend to celebrate my mom's 80th birthday with my family. I was home only for a few days and our weekend was packed with family type activities. I was also so tired from taking a red eye flight.

My sister mentioned to me that a very dear childhood friend of ours had been diagnosed with breast cancer and she had made arrangements for us to see her on Saturday morning. I had seen Lorna a few times since we had graduated from high school in 1973 but probably could have counted the times on one hand and all of our encounters were just running into each other when I was back visiting my parents and just brief moments really.

I was so tired that Saturday morning and we had a full day of activities planned and in my mind I was so not wanting to go. But probably even more than that, Lorna's cancer was caught very late and her disease was terminal and I knew it would be a difficult visit.

My sister and I had breakfast with my parents and then we did go visit Lorna and it was the best decision I could have made. In my mind I have thanked my sister so many times for setting that up. We visited for hours and laughed and giggled about the past and at times I felt like we were back in high school in the early 70s. There were also some tears, but they were good tears and we found Lorna comforting us instead of the other way around. We also took a few pictures that day to remind us of this visit. Lorna passed away about six months after our visit.

Since that day, my sister has reached out to several other of our childhood friends on Facebook and we are trying to stay connected. For my generation, Facebook has been a great way to reconnect.

I have learned a valuable lesson from that experience. Don't be afraid to reach out to your past and don't let other things get in your way. Our past is so important.