SLICE OF LIFE

Dear friends.
Thirty five years ago.
When we were sorority sisters.
Alpha Phis at CU.
She left early.
Went to Chicago for Physical Therapy School.
Met her husband.
I was in her wedding.
And then somehow life happened
And we lost touch.

Today we saw each other for the first time in many years.
We talked children.
She has five.
The oldest two are entrepreneurs.
One has pink hair. Owns a florist.
The second one has a wedding lighting business.
I never knew such a thing existed.
Another son has just come back from 8 years as a missionary in Uganda.
Married last October.
Is hoping to start a Ph.D. in third world economics.
And then there is a basketball player.

And the youngest, newly graduated,
was at Arapahoe High School last December
during a shooting.
 I shudder as she tells me about getting a text.
"I'm fine, mom. Don't worry."
And going to the school to find him.
People abandoning their cars on University Boulevard
a major thorough fare. 
Standing in line with parents whose kids didn't have access to their cell phones.
Who didn't know if their kids were dead or alive.
Finally finding her son at King Soopers.

We talk families.
Aging parents.
Her mom's death a year ago.
Difficult siblings.
(Does everyone have one).
Middle aged health challenges.

And then we talk about faith.
Church.
Bible studies. 
Books read.
The character of God.
Because that is how we became friends. 
And that is what matters most
to both of us.

And somehow, the years we have lost melt away.
And we are right back where we were
Thirty-five years ago.