My daughters each have a couple of friends that they’ve basically known since birth. And, these kids all seem to feel a special connection with each other, as if they realize that having a truly life-long friend is priceless. These are the friends with whom my children never fight or have disagreements. These are the kids to whom my girls turn when something is bothering them. And these are the friends that I believe, will always have the most special part of my daughters’ hearts.There truly is something incredible about friendships that begin so early in life. Maybe it’s because there’s an innocence in those relationships that is so beautiful or maybe it’s because the people who have known us since childhood are the people who can understand us the most. They know where we’ve come from. They know who we are at the core.
Such was the case of my early childhood friend Jenny. Living only a few houses apart from each other, we played together constantly starting in kindergarten. Between riding bikes around the neighborhood, playing street tennis in front of my house, and dancing to seventies music together in her living room, we spent an awful lot of time together. Jenny and I essentially grew up together during our elementary school years. Then suddenly, in the middle of sixth grade, her family moved to Seattle and I never saw her again.
I thought of Jenny often as the years went by. But life happened and time marched on and suddenly ten years had gone by without Jenny. One weekend in 1989, a decade after I’d last seen my girlfriend, I came home from college for a visit. The night I arrived home, there was a knock on the front door. There before me was Jenny! She was traveling cross country with a friend of hers and decided to stop by and see her old neighborhood. We chatted for about ten minutes on my front porch. And then, as quickly as she’d arrived, she was gone. I’m sure we made promises back then to stay in touch. Yet, once again, life took over and no letters or phone calls ever actually materialized.
Off and on I’d think of Jenny during the years. Sometimes an old song would play on the radio and I’d think about the performances we’d put on all those years ago in front of her sofa. Occasionally, I’d look through old pictures, and there I’d see Jenny in her PJ’s at my house for a sleep over, or at the table eating cake during one of my birthday parties.
Years passed and Jenny became just a distant memory. Then, as the internet became more and more a part of our lives, I found myself trying to find her. Yet, despite frequent searches, I was unsuccessful. Then, last year I got a Facebook account. I decided, once again, to try searching for my friend from years gone by. I looked for her and her brother many times. But, once again, my luck ran dry and I forced myself to accept that my search was totally futile.
Suddenly, yesterday, I got a phone call from my sister. “Jenny just left me a message. She found my phone number since I’m listed, and she’s going to be in town tomorrow. She wants to see you.”
I couldn’t believe it! I’d been trying to hunt Jenny down all this time and now, out of the blue, here she was calling me! Of course, I phoned her immediately and we chatted for a while. Later today, I’m going to meet her for dinner. I’m finally going to see her again, thirty years after she moved away! And this time, I’m not going to lose track of her. Ever.
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by Sharon Dunski Vermont
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