Bonds of Love Withstand the Test of Time

My first love came into town to visit me this past weekend. Some of you will know who I'm talking about, but most of you probably won't. His name is Andy and I've known him ever since I was 16 years old. We lost touch with each other back when I was 18 but one day after roughly 7 years of zero contact he called me. I was around the age of 25 then, just had my first kid, and was married to an awful man who I divorced years ago...thank goodness.

I don't remember exactly how Andy found me, but that's not really important. He drove to Fort Worth from Houston just to see me and it meant the world to me. Unfortunately we were only able to visit for a few short hours. The man I was married to at the time was very controlling and abusive so it was nearly impossible for me and Andy to visit much longer than that. What a sad time for the both of us since it was painfully obvious that we still had deep feelings for each other even after all that time. But due to circumstances we didn't talk again until years later when I finally made contact.

I found his mother and through her I was able to get his number and I called him. That was roughly two years ago which means it had been 14 years or so since we last spoke. The conversation was awkward...as if our bond was no longer intact because too much time had passed. I did manage to give him my email address before hanging up but I didn't expect I'd ever hear from him again which made me really sad. Then one day several weeks ago he emailed me out of the blue asking if that was my email and if I was still there. I was totally blown away and beyond thrilled to hear from him.

This time we didn't lose touch. We have been talking to each other on a fairly regular basis since he emailed, but didn't get to actually see each other until this past Friday. It was almost unbelievable to me to see him for the first time in 16 years! In many ways if felt like no time had passed at all and our bond is still very much intact. In other ways it was totally surreal. Regardless it was absolutely wonderful seeing him again after all that time.

Some interesting tidbits...

While I was still living in Fort Worth, Andy moved to Austin for a couple of years. When I moved to Austin, Andy moved to Fort Worth! Never in the same city at the same time! Andy also has old friends he has known since the sixth grade who live in Austin now. He introduced me to them back when I was 17 and I adored them right away and even have pictures of them somewhere.

Once Andy got to Austin this weekend he called up one of these friends...Robert. I haven't seen Robert in over 20 years and wow was it ever good to see him! He is married now and I totally enjoyed meeting his wife. Her name is Jackie and she is awesome! The four of us went out to eat at a place called Evangeline's in South Austin, then went back to Robert and Jackie's house where an old face from the past showed up along with some new faces. It was a party and I had a great time! I didn't want to leave their house, but Andy and I had more catching up to do and I had responsibilities so we had to hug their necks goodbye with promises of getting together another time. They are special people and I'm so glad I got to spend some time with them and hope we can all stay in touch.

What I took away from all this...

True love does last the test of time and distance. Love is never something to throw away or agonize over because circumstances might get in the way. It is something to be enjoyed and appreciated while we have it. True love can come in many forms and be shared with many people at once. Actually I've always known this, but to see it in practice validates my feelings on the subject. There are many people in my life that I truly do love. Some accept my love, others don't, but at least I know I'm being true to myself and THAT my friends is something I can always be proud of.

A Happy Reunion...

Robert is sitting far left in front...his beautiful wife Jackie is the gal with the white shirt. The pic quality isn't that great but I'm standing in between Andy and Leon...Leon is the tall guy you can barely see in the back. The other folks are new faces to me, but they are lovely people too who I hope to see again someday.