My thoughts wandered to seven years ago when I was just entering high school and there was a core group of young people I grew up with. This group of young people was crucial to my being able to accept that I wasn't going back to Pennsylvania and to further my Christian walk. To think of how closely knit we were and even still are, brings me back time and time again.
Unfortunately, this little thing known as life got in the way and forced us to play its roulette wheel known as college. My metaphors mean this. You pick the college (black or red) and your major (number), but in all reality, who knows if you'll pursue that major the whole way through. And even if you do, who knows what job you will get and where it will be.
Well, that roulette wheel scattered us pretty good. To put it all in perspective, there were about 30 of us ranging from 8th-12th grade. We scattered like antelope being hunted by cheetahs. We ended up in NY, NJ, IN, NC, PA, MI, all over Ohio, etc. Nine or so of us have jobs or permanently moved more than two hours out of Cleveland. Three of us are married and two more are engaged. There's also a handful I haven't heard from or seen in years. When the ones who have moved come for a visit, we make the time a mini holiday.
It's just hard to realize how cruel time can be and how change can once in awhile be annoying. The truth is, this sort of change is inevitable, but for me it happened ridiculously fast. By the Lord's mercy, there are about 10 of us from that original group who currently reside here in Cleveland and that's huge. But it reminds me often of (as Eric Church puts it) those I've loved (and still do) along the way.
That's why whenever some or all of us get together, I do everything I can to be there. Life is short and if you don't make the most of it now, who knows if you'll even have tomorrow? Even though life goes on, that glue called friendship keeps us coming back. So until I stop breathing, I will continue to remember the glory days and keep them close. I will end this post with the words of Eric Church:
"And I hope they know
I never woulda made it this far on my own
Where would we all be without those
Fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers
The friends I’ve made, the long lost lovers
I wouldn’t be who I am today
If not for those I’ve loved along the way
Along the way."
