Old Friends

February 14, 1994:

I arrived in Italy with my dog, Dixie Blue. MM picked me up at the airport and drove me to our first home together as a married couple. I hadn't seen my new husband in over six months; I was in a foreign country; I knew absolutely nothing about the Army life; I knew no one else in Italy. I was completely overwhelmed with it all as I stood in our new living room filled with government furniture wondering if it would ever feel normal to me. Then my doorbell rang, and there was a neighbor with a warm smile and a big bone to welcome Dixie to the neighborhood. Her name was Heidi. We became fast friends, walking our dogs together, exploring the local markets, dining at the local trattorias, learning how to plant flowers, grow tomatoes, make homemade bread, and cook Italian food. We even danced on stage with the Vicenza chorus in a "Disney Spectacular" performance, which is fodder for another blog post.

After three amazing, roller coaster years together, Heidi and I became very close friends. Her husband got out of the Army not long after our years in Italy and they moved back to their hometown of Carlisle, Pennsylvania to raise their family. There have been a few visits and phone calls over the years, and of course the annual Christmas cards. Now here we are almost two decades later, in Carlisle together. So much has changed; we each have three kids, the oldest being 18 years old. Hannah and Beau were babies when we parted ways in Fort Benning.

Heidi and Brian came over for dinner last night and I feel like every time we see them, we pick up right where we left off so many years ago. How wonderful is this life that unexpected paths cross, and I have the chance to spend time with people who hold such a warm place in my heart and with whom I share so many treasured memories?? Time marches forward and it might transform our appearances, our circumstances, and our temperaments... but those memories stay the same.

To all my dear Vicenza friends (you know who you are), I can't help but wonder if your ears were burning last night??