I'm not sure if this post is about old friends, or modern technology, or the fact that it is indeed a small world after all (especially at Disney). Perhaps it's a little bit about all three, and how they all came together in Germany. Sort of ...
But let's start at the beginning. I grew up in the small town of Starkville, Mississippi. Back in the day, it was even smaller, so small that I can remember when McDonald's came to town. When I started first grade, kindergarten was optional. The schools were segregated and all the white kids attended one of two elementary schools for grades one through six and then joined together in the 7th grade.
By the time I reached 7th grade, schools were integrated, so we had new friends from different schools.One of these friends was a girl named Peggy Bailey. We were in band and a few classes together. I don't remember much about those days, mostly because it was 35+ years ago and Peggy and I didn't get into any major drama together. I remember being in Mrs. Hodges's Algebra class together and band trips. I remember how nice and sweet Peggy was and her blond hair and how Judy started calling her Peggy Irene and then Irene (and since I was never fond of my name, I thought it was really neat to change your name).
Anyhow, I graduated high school a year early, flew through college, got married, left Starkville, and started a different life. I probably saw Peggy/Peggy Irene/Irene maybe once at a class reunion, but that was about it. I was terrible about keeping up with my high school friends, which I will explain in a bit.
Anyhoo, fast foward to 2009. I was walking in a 3-Day event and wrote a book to raise money. Somehow Irene had found out (I believe through Anita, another friend I will tell you about later this year) and wanted to contribute to the cause. She said she was going by Irene now and living in Louisiana with her husband. She told me about her husband, her son and daughter and their families, and her grandson, Owen. We became facebook friends, and kept track of each other that way.
Fast forward a little more to this Christmas week. I saw a picture of her on facebook, and I thought, "I know where that is in the Magic Kingdom!" I wondered if she was currently in Disney World, which is where I happened to be. I started to inquire, but since I had just done that with another friend who actually had been there a few weeks prior, I decided to just let it go.
I posted my own picture of my trip at Disney, and Irene posted a note asking if we were there and maybe we could meet up. And here's where the trepidation set in. The reason I never connected with my old friends was that I had changed since high school. I was way bigger, and way older, and way grayer than I was in those days. In addition to physically being different, I was emotionally different, and probably intellectually different (although maybe not in a good way). Would Irene take one look at me and think, "OMG - WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!" (Okay, so maybe she's seen my illustrious photographs on facebook - maybe she would have some warning, but seeing it up close and personal could be harrowing).
I really debated about meeting up. But in the end, I decided what the heck - God didn't put it all together for nothing. So I messaged or facebooked, or whatevered (yeah, a phone call would have been helpful, but refer to the intellectually different comment) and we tentatively agreed to meet at the caramel popcorn place in Germany.
And so we did. On a way-too-chilly morning in December, we met each other and our spouses and Irene's family. Irene didn't pass out from the shock and need medical attention, and it seemed as all those years dissolved into merely moments. I realized that in those years, we passed a generation - we missed talking about our own kids and now talk about our grandchildren. But I also realized that some things never change - Irene is still nice and sweet - and blond!
So what's this post about? Is it about old friends, or new technology, or a small world? Maybe, but I really think it's about this - God saying, "You need a special blessing today, and I think I'll call it 'Irene.'"
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Today's blessings: Eggs and spinach for breakfast via Sam; MK-ing it with Lindley, Lynnette, Sam, and Maribeth
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