Twenty-Nine Years Later…

On this last Workout Wednesday of my 45th year on the planet, I find my mind swirling with questions about one thing: Time. Where does it go? How can so much of it pass in what feels like the blink of an eye while the calendar shows a much different reality?

I know this reflection began thanks to a long overdue reunion with Tracy, Lisa, Molly, Evva, Jessica and Irene: six incredible women I met on or soon after day one at Northwestern University. The impossible reality is those friendships were born 29 years ago. While our hair styles and fashion choices have (thankfully) changed since then, our hearts and souls don’t feel that much different. We may have a few more lines on our faces after decades of smiles (and tears); a few of us may need eyeglasses (and I’m the first “proud owner” of a hearing aid), but the traits that make each of us unique yet brought us together remain.

Of course, if I stop and think about the trials we’ve experienced since our Wildcat days, the heart can suddenly feel older. In the ’90s, we struggled through the stress of exams and breakups with some of our first loves. Today, we are who we are because of  greater challenges: career highs and lows; marital ups and downs; childrens’ growing pains; aging parents; and the most difficult game-changer of all: the loss of parents, grandparents, other relatives and even friends. And too much thinking about the circumstances surrounding those losses, whether a longterm illness or an unexpected tragedy, only adds more wear and tear to the often fragile heart.We can’t fight the passage of time. But with each year that passes, I am all too aware of how blessed I am to wake up to each and every new day. And that’s why I am grateful I had the opportunity to spend 48 hours with the people who sometimes knew me better than I knew myself at a time when we were all trying to find our way in the world as adults.

Last weekend marked the first time in 10 years the seven of us had been together. We said our teary goodbyes with a promise we’d never wait that long again. If there’s someone you’ve been wanting to spend time with but have always found a reason not to – just do it. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Embrace the present and any opportunity you’re blessed with to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!