Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

8/26/2015

The Lay of the Land

By Lyn Messersmith

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

            Not likely, this summer. I can’t recall a time when so many friends from childhood, people who know someone I know, or knew me back when, have come by, called, or emailed. Just about the time I began feeling sorry for myself because everyone seemed to be off on vacation but me, they started coming to my door so I didn’t have to be gone.

            Granted, sometimes one has to start the ball rolling, but I’m getting better at that. I practically insisted that Sandy and I make time to see one another. We both needed the break; a chance to be nobody but who we are, and know we’re loved for that.

Missy and I saw our friend off to start a new life over a long lunch. We will miss her, but as we all spread our wings in different ways we grow closer, despite the miles.

My daughter and I spent a weekend in the Hills with old and new friends and had time to just relax, which neither of us is good at doing on our own. I barely made it back in time to welcome my daughter in law’s mom for an overnight visit before she wended her way west to connect with an old friend. We enjoyed the interlude as friends, rather than members of a larger family gathering.

Pauletta and I finally got to meet while she and her daughter reconnected with old times and places in the Valentine area. Though we’ve been corresponding for quite a while, I may never make it to Vegas, so was glad she came this way.

Elizabeth and I began school together and have kept in touch ever since. You’d think we’d get down to the Denver metro area more often than every ten years, but it seems not to happen. So when she and her husband came through, we got together in town for an afternoon of reminiscing. Neither of us wanted to admit how old we were going to be when our July birthdays arrived, or which milestone alumni year we’ll see next summer, but there’s no use trying to fool someone who has known you since age six.

Linda is my cousin’s cousin, and we all played together as kids. She and another of her cousins made time to have lunch with us on her way from Mesa to a family gathering in Rapid City.

A contingent of childhood friends from Mesa (what is it with Mesa and former Nebraskans, anyway?) were home for a memorial service, along with their relatives from eastern Nebraska and Denver. Not kids anymore, but it was fun recalling the days when we were.

Kelly and Doug were about in the Sandhills, but we were away and missed seeing them. Even so, it was good to hear from them about their plans, and maybe next year…

Kay and Mary Beth spent several days with us in June, and we descended on Kay’s toy farm near Sioux Falls in early August after an overnight with my favorite former in-laws, in Wayne.

We’ll see all of them again in October, but before that I want to run up to Gillette and check out the new digs my granddaughter’s family has acquired.

A Brownlee community pot luck gave an opportunity for good visits with lots of old friends and neighbors. Some other neighbors hosted a barn party—gee, it’s not even holiday season and already I need to punch another hole in the belt. Nobody cooks like ranch women!

Sometimes I think it’d be nice to travel afar and see new sights, but who has time for that? This mode is much more economical, and I’ve always been a cheapskate.

Anybody else headed my way? Just give a heads up so I can put the coffee on.