Catching Up With Old Friends

This weekend is my 20th high school reunion, and I am really looking forward to catching up with friends from back then. But I have actually already started catching up with old friends on this trip! The nice thing about Wright-Patterson AFB is that people often end up back there, so it's a great place to run into people from the past! So far in this visit, I have caught up with 3 friends from way back.

1. Beverly and her husband Ted were stationed at W-P back when we were stationed here, and we have kept up through the years. Their family stayed with us back in September while they saw the sights in D.C. Ted is now deployed in Afghanistan for a year, but we met Beverly and her kids at a park near my parents' house Saturday morning and had a lovely picnic lunch there.

2. Marie and her husband Fred were stationed at W-P back when I was in college, right after Bob and I were married. She and Fred had just gotten married as well, and he and Bob worked in the same organization. We even all went to the same dining out! Marie and I both graduated from Cedarville, and we only reconnected because we have another set of friends in common, one of Bob's old bosses! We met Marie and her 7 kids, plus one friend, at the pool Tuesday afternoon. It was broiling hot, but we had such a nice time visiting while the kids splashed away. Marie's husband is deployed to Germany right now, and Marie is getting ready to take the kids over there for 60 days to visit--fun!!

3. Dawn and her husband Fred were stationed with us in Colorado. We were in the same childbirth class before Nathan was born, and after their son Fredrick was born (just a few weeks after Nathan), Dawn and I were in the same moms walking group at Peterson AFB. We had such a great group of ladies! Dawn and Fred eventually followed us to W-P, so we went to each other's kid's birthday parties and had play dates together. But as frequently happens in the military, we both moved, our Christmas letters with new addresses got returned, and we lost touch. Thanks to Facebook, however, we reconnected! They are stationed back here at W-P, and Dawn and her 3 kids came over and visited Wednesday afternoon! It was so wonderful to see them again, and to catch up with Dawn! It turns out her husband is also preparing to deploy as well, although his deployment will be state-side. I know some people complain about Facebook, but it is certainly a wonderful tool for finding and keeping in touch with people you don't live anywhere near!

Now, I am sure you can see the common link here--all 3 of these ladies have husbands who have or will be deployed. Clearly, if you are friends of ours who have been stationed with us before and are now stationed at W-P, it is just a matter of time before your husband will be deploying! Just a warning--so sorry!

But now I am looking even farther back in time, as I think about seeing people from high school. Tomorrow Amy and I are having lunch and getting manicures and pedicures with Julie, our good friend, who is coming in for the reunion from PA. I am so excited to see her, since it's been several years! And then we have dinner at a pizza place Friday night and a more formal dinner on Saturday. I am a little nervous, I'll be honest, but I am so glad I'll be going in with Amy and Julie! The three amigos, LOL.