Where did 20 years go?

One week ago today I was at Portofino Restaurant in Port Charlotte, FL drinking, dancing, and eating with great friends. Had it really been 20 years since I had seen most of them? Hmmm...most of them look the same. We are laughing and talking as easily as if we had been in class together earlier that day. We can't be almost 40 - we are all still 18! (If you doubt me, just look at Michelle Mazzoni, I swear she hasn't aged one day since graduation.) Oh wait, here's an indication that I'm not still in high school - I just introduced my HUSBAND to my first BOYFRIEND. They are shaking hands...everyone is laughing...yep, not in high school anymore. It was a wonderful weekend filled with great stories and memories and I admit that when I gave my last hug to Jeremy as we were leaving the picnic, I had to blink back tears. But, I'm glad that I can always have those safe, sweet memories of my teen years. Because of the friends and experiences I had back them - I became the woman I am today. I met and married the man I love. I'm living the life I was meant to have.

I'm struggling to find the proper words to express what I'm feeling as I sit here still enmeshed in nostalgia but loving my present. So I am going to quote an entry a friend wrote in my yearbook a couple of days before graduation. There were so many people to whom I would have liked to have said the same thing: "...may each person you meet color your world. There is no better canvas than yours my friend, and I hope we have given the painting a good start. Personally, I don't want to put down the brush, but it's my turn to allow others the privilege of helping you shape your life."

Yes, we have changed since we all stood together so many years ago in our red caps and gowns, but we will always share that bond and that is what keeps us the same.