My how things have changed

I know it's been a while since I've written. Life has swept me up in it's whirlwind. It's almost the end of 2008 and overall this year turned out ok for me. It wasn't always the easiest year and there were some challenges along the way but I'm coming out on the other side, wiser and more determined than ever.

Unfortunately I lost another classmate about a month ago. She passed away from a heart attack at the very young age of 30. It caught me off guard and I can only imagine how it affected her family. I'm just now realizing how sad it was and how glad I am that I got a chance to hang out with some of my classmates at a recent bowling outing.

Oddly enough, the people who attended the outing weren't people that I hung out with while we were in high school but it was cool to spend some time with them now that we're adults. It was equally cool and disturbing to see how many people are married and/or have kids. I was definitely in the minority being single and childless.

One thing I noticed is how everyone seemed to regress a bit the longer we were out. It always amazes me how certain people from my past tend to take me back to how I was at that point in time when we were close. It also amazes me to watch other people go back to that time when they're around me or someone else. I watched this happen with amusement this past weekend. I'm sure some of the regression could be attributed to the alcohol that was being drunk by virtually everyone but it was funny to watch nonetheless.

I even found myself regressing a bit because it felt a little odd to be sitting across from a gentleman that I might have spoken to on occasion but we didn't interact very often when we were in high school. We chatted it up fairly well and things were cool.

Then I ran into quite a few college associates at another event. It was cool to see those people as well but there was no regression on my part. In fact, I was ok with just saying hello and giving a hug then keeping things moving.

Overall this has been a weekend of short reunions for me, which I appreciate and enjoy for many reasons. The biggest one is that it shows me how far I've come and how much I've grown.

I'll see you again in 2009. Be on the lookout for some cool new developments with this blog as well.