Where Would I Be?

The last ten days I've been on a wonderful vacation, exploring Spain and Italy with my friends that I've known since college.  At the end of the trip, we all went our separate ways - one to the east side of the DFW metroplex, one to Denver, and me to Fort Worth.

I wonder where I would be if I had never met these women?  I know I never would have moved to Texas - I followed them after they had finished college (and I had dropped out).  So I never would have found a job in the airline industry, never would have traveled the world...lots of nevers.

They are both strong, mature women.  One married to a wonderful man she met after a horrible marriage, the other single like me.  One works for the defense industry, the other in the medical field.  One tall, the other short.  One blonde, one redhead.  Why we became and remained friends is a mystery.

The happiest time I'll remember from our trip won't be the incredible scenery of Italy, the architecture of Barcelona, or the wine we drank.  It will be the afternoon at sea that we brought the decks of cards to the Irish bar onboard ship and played all the games we played in college.  One game involved slapping the cards when doubles were played, and towards the end of the evening I was a little slow (too many Guinness'), so "slap, Sandy, slap" became a phrase we repeated the rest of the trip in jest.  We slid right into that comfortable, warm, place that was our friendship 31 years ago.  So good to be home.

We promised at the end to meet in another 30 years - we'll all be 80 then.  I sure hope we don't really wait that long this time.  But if we do, we'll still be the same, and will still use our walkers to go to the Irish bar with our decks of cards.  And hopefully someone will still remember the rules to the "slap" card game.  And we'll laugh until we cry, and move easily into that warm, comfortable, place that is our friendship.