Well, as many of you who will read this know, the past few months have brought about some major life changes for me. Basically I found my world turned… well, I’m not sure which way it turned, but it definitely didn’t remain the same. The last time I remember feeling this way was, strangely, Sept 11, 2001. At that time I realized how many of my friends I had lost touch with over the years. I still thought about many of them on a regular basis… some more so than others. I had never forgotten any of them or what they meant to me. But, for various reasons, I just let “life” get in the way of staying in touch. The events of 9/11 shook me up enough that I got back in touch with some of them. I sent some emails saying things, positive things, that I never thought I would. For others I just wrote letters that were never sent because I didn’t know where or how to contact them. Of those I could reach, I’ve remained in on-and-off again contact with some. For some I’ve kept up-to-date with via family and friends. But others once again fell into the realm of long lost friends as time slipped by and “life” got in the way of staying in touch.

Well, here I am again. Another life changing moment for me, and it makes me think back to all the friends I’ve lost touch with again. And once again I find myself putting in the time and effort to find them. I really am curious what is up with all of them… where are they now? what are they doing? what excitement (good and bad) has life thrown their direction? Yet, at the same time, because of where I’m at with my life changes, I’m not so eager to share the latest news on my end. Not because I don’t want to share it, but simply because it isn’t “happy” news. Still, it makes me realize that with some friendships, it doesn’t matter how long it might be between conversations, they are always there for you… be it a couple of days, a decade, or even longer. And for those friendships I will be forever appreciative.

For myself, I’m going to do my best from here on out to stay in touch with these people… even if it just means tagging them every now and then in a note on facebook (despite the annoying changes facebook made). With technology where it is, there really isn’t much of a reason not to reach out and say “hi” every once in a while.

So, if you’ve read this far, here is what I ask that you do… take a few moments out of your week to try and find one of those long lost friends from your past. Maybe it was that friend from high school that moved away or perhaps it’s someone from college or later in life. Regardless of who it is, take the time to reconnect and catch up a little. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did..