Silver and Gold

There's a little camp song with the words "Make new friends, keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

A few days before we moved from South Carolina, I had the opportunity to catch up with my dear friend Megan and her husband Jay, while the X-Factor and Z-Man befriended Megan and Jay's three kids, Morgan, Parker, and Addison. Ironically, Megan and her family do not live in South Carolina. They live in Florida and had a family vacation in the Palmetto State.

My friendship with "Megs" spans more than fifteen years after we met during our Freshman year at Houghton College. During our Senior year, Megan shared a room in a house with me and five other friends. When I mentioned being undecided about future career plans, she suggested that I give Orlando a try. She was moving there and her twin sister Danika already lived in O'Town. I'm sure I've written before how moving to Orlando was one of the best decisions of my life time and I'll be forever grateful to Megan and Danika for helping me make that giant step.

Megan and I met our husbands in the "land of the mouse." Want some more irony? The first time the two men met, they curiously looked each other over and said, "Wait....I know you!" They attended the same high school.

Although Dr. N and I have lived in four different states since we moved from Florida, Megan and I stayed in touch. We don't call each other or e-mail on a regular basis. However, we have one of those beautiful friendships that stands the test of time and distance.
Meeting at Chick-Fil-A a few weeks ago felt almost as if no time had past, even though at least six years had gone by since our last face-to-face conversation.

Even better, our children bonded instantly. The X-Factor loved playing with both Morgan and Parker. And let me just say...if I was a believer in arranged marriages, I would be talking to Megs and Jay about Parker's hand for the X-Factor. He is one sweet, smart, and handsome little guy. Z-man and Addison were the youngest members of the crew, but they also had fun in the playing.

I left the meeting a bit sad that the time was so short and that our families aren't neighbors. But, joy accompanied that sadness. That joy stemmed from knowing the blessing of true friendship.