Old friends

Alright, this week we went to Calaway Park on Tuesday, and then swimming at the newly renovated wave pool on Wednesday. Even with all the renovations however, I see they still haven't found a way to keep hair from gathering in puddles in the change rooms or band-aids from sticking to the pool deck. I wish I had my own pool because I love swimming, but I hate public swimming pools.

Yesterday my sister and I headed up to Sylvan Lake to play. My friend Cindy lives there, so she joined us with her kids too. Just a side note: Alex flew to Toronto on Wednesday to spend a week with James' mom and step-dad. So at the lake I had one less child, but Colleen brought 2 extras so in total we had 3 moms and 13 kids. But it was still a fun time. The kids all played and Colleen, Cindy and I just chatted away. I'd post some pictures, but I forgot to bring my camera. In fact, its a good thing that I'm blogging about some of our activities, because I have only remembered to bring my camera once. How sad. This years scrapbook will look like summer never happened.

Anyway, back to visiting with Cindy...it was a great time. Mostly it was great because even though I only see Cindy maybe once or twice a year, we always have lots to talk about and I always enjoy being with her. Plus, Cindy if you are reading this, you look fantastic. Cindy doesn't look any older than (or is it then) when we were in university.

Then I came home and had one of those giddy facebook moments. An old engineering friend had just started facebooking and had sent a friend request. For some background, when my sister started engineering (and I was still in Gr. 11), she became friends with 2 guys who lived quite close...Trevor and Kelly. I quickly weaseled my way into their friendship as well (like I always did with all of Colleen's interesting friends. But hey - I let her come visit Cindy with me yesterday!!). Then when I started engineering school a couple of years later, I started doing a lot more with Trevor and Kelly. I remember having my drafting lab one afternoon each week in the Civil/Electrical engineering building, and since Kelly and Trevor had most of their classes in that building, they would always come and hang out during that lab. Sometimes they even helped me with the work, but I think they were as crappy at drafting as I was. Anyway, over the next 5 years, we all stayed close friends. After graduation Trevor moved to Austin, but Kelly was still around in Edmonton. Even after I got married and had kids I would always visit with Kelly when I came home. James and I also visited Trevor and his wife in Austin a couple of times. But, like lots of friends, we seemed to lose touch after I moved to Germany and I haven't heard from either one until Trevor found me on facebook yesterday.

So, my point in all this is that I love being with friends who have known me for a long time. When I'm with them, I remember that I did have a life that didn't revolve around James and the kids - not that its a bad life, just it was different and more carefree. These old friends (certainly not in age, just in length of relationship) remind me who I am - me, Janine, not mom, not responsible adult, not wife of the business owner etc. Cindy and I were friends as kids, as geeky young teenagers, as angst-ridden-boy-crazy (OK maybe just me) high-schoolers, as stressed-out university students, as new moms...all of life, and we still get along. Trevor and Kelly also knew me as a lot of those things..just not the younger versions. I don't know why, but somehow the weight of all these past connections and experiences is comforting. Maybe because I think that if someone liked me even when I was a lippy 14-year-old, or a self-centered 19 year-old, then they must be a true friend after all.