Old Friends

Last Thursday, I took the girls and two of their friends with me to work on my classroom. It was so nice to have some help with the jobs that take so much time for one person to do--cutting out name labels and attaching them to folders and index cards and cubbies and closet spots etc... We went to the mall after that to have lundin (lunch/dinner) and to shop for some school clothes. The girls did very well and I found some great $5 bargains at NY&Co.

When we were just about finished shopping, and waiting for Cassie to get out of the dressing room at H&M, Ali and her friend Steff and I sat on a bench inside the mall. Who appears in front of my eyes....one of my high school friends, Robbi (Hall) Kumalo!!! It was so great to see her--it's funny how time seems encapsulated when you see someone you shared that high school experience with.

Robbie and I and our friend Louise Rizzuto (now Lee, I think) used to sing together. I was the alto of our little group, Louise the soprano and Robbie the swinger in the middle. We sang some great pieces back then...'Lift thine Eyes' and 'Send in the Clowns', and 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'...Our harmonies and the blend of our voices made the hair stand up on my arms. It was so connected and beautiful. I miss the sound and the commraderie of our relationship.

It's sad how disconnected we all became after high school--Louise became a Physicians Assistant and the last time I saw her was at Brookhaven Memorial when Dave had sliced his thumb open right under his nail--it was a nasty, bleeding mess that had to be stitched--try putting a needle of painkiller under your nail--OUCH. I lost track of Louise after that. I saw Robbi a couple of times--once in Port Jeff a number of years back and once at a school play that her neice or nephew was in with Ali at Oregon Middle School.

So these chance meetings have got me thinking that there's a reason for us running into each other. I think I need to google Louise and get a date together that we can see each other. Time is short and people are precious factors of our lives. God can throw people into our paths, but we're the ones who need to foster those relationships.