I actually smiled reading that….. really nice!

That is fabulous!! So happy for you!!!

Sadly, this works in reverse, to my regret. A while ago, I got to wondering about a good friend and her husband that were stationed with us in Texas for the first years of our marriage. Searched online to find that she had died years ago, that her DH remarried after a few years and that HE had died just a month before my search. Wish we hadn't lost touch...

And then last month, the secretary of my high school class told us of the death of my first "real" boyfriend. Made me sad, but he apparently had a good life, career and family.

Hope I haven't rained on your parade here with my memories. Old friends are the best, and to find them again is precious. (insert heart emoji here)

Oh, yes -- one military brat friend I made in high school (she was, not I) has been part of my life for the past 30+ years -- one of the six old friends from all 13 grades of school that I see annually for our gathering in Maine, which is coming up in two months time!

((((roxanna))) that has also happened to me. Wondered how someone was, only to find, they were gone. I had a boss I loved for 18 years. I realized I hadn't found him any in the past couple of years, and sure enough, he's gone.

Thats so nice. I hope you have a happy reunion.

One time I was at work when I unexpectedly got an email from two old college friends whe were together reminiscing. I nearly fainted as I always wondered what became of them. They contacted me yhrough my work email. They only ever knew me by my maiden name, which I never used.

I was overjoyed to hear from them and catch up after 40 years.

At my age (screaming towards 80), this sort of thing will become more frequent, I know. But it's hard to realize folk that you knew forever as a child and still think they look the same (hah hah) will always be pursuing their lives, just out of sight.

Hold fast to old friends!

HOW was this old friend found?

Found through social media. She's not on a lot of stuff, but something finally panned out.

Congrats. This is perhaps the best part of social media. Enjoy your reunion!

That's wonderful rob. My travel buddy was my best friend in high school and college. She moved across the country, and we both spent the decades busy with our families and careers. We had some phone contact, but not much. Then came e-mail, then texting, then FB messenger, and keeping in touch got so much easier. Then all the kids grew up, and we both retired, and the more we conversed, the more we realized we are still the same in so many ways! Extremely compatible. We started traveling together here and there, and are having a wonderful time of it. This is a friendship of 52 years and counting.!! A toast to old friends, the very best kind.

I hope you enjoy your new re-found friendship!

How wonderful! There's nothing like connections with people from your childhood.

As a young adult, I moved about 350 miles up the coast from my home town. I lost contact with all but a few pre-college friends. In particular, there was one guy who was probably my best friend in Jr. High. We went to different high schools and while we had gotten together a few times in the intervening years between then and before college, we pretty much drifted apart.

Advance the clock about 45 years. Under circumstances that don't matter, we randomly ran into each other. Not just that, but we live in the same neighborhood (he'd moved in about 6 months before). Our houses are about 1/2 mile apart as the crow flies, a slightly longer walk or drive. We've re-established our good friendship, including getting to know and befriending one another's family members too.

It was a very unexpected "find", because neither of us was looking for the other. Nor knew we lived in the same area at some distance away from where we each lived when we met.

Not all "old friends" are or can remain or again become friends as the years advance or upon an encounter after the passage of time. Life happens, people sometimes change for the good or for the bad, experiences differ. Our memories of times past are fixed and don't evolve as we sometimes do over the years.

Just because one was a friend or not a friend with someone in times past and far away, doesn't always mean that things will start anew where they left off. When it does and it's positive, it's cool. Hope it works out for you with your old friend, rob.

What was really awesome elmer? We did talk after work today, and like you and your friend, things mirrored in our lives. So many chances to make choices, and many of them were the same as children, and into adulthood. Strangely cool.

That’s really great, Rob, and happy you two reconnected. Such a sweet photo!

I have been fortunate to reconnect with several old friends from my hometown that I grew up with. We all seemed to be doing our own thing and were busy with college, marriage, kids, jobs. Now that we’re retired, it’s been nice to reconnect and see many of them. Yes, sadly some have now passed away, and I’m glad we had a chance to meet again before that happened.

I love that she saved that picture. It is awesome! What a great reconnection to have.

" What was really awesome elmer? "

I'm not sure if you're asking me a question or not. I'll just say that neither of us is particularly prone to sentimentality or nostalgia. We asked one another one main question about the past - why in the h=== was it that neither of us made an effort to keep in contact with the other. Neither of us has a good answer for that. Otherwise, we haven't reminisced much. Just a tad.

Many of our life's paths have been quite different, many of our choices and certainly our occupations were quite different. It doesn't matter as we've mostly picked up where we left off as friends and have moved forward as friends. It's been over 10 years since we became reacquainted. We get along well not necessarily because we have a lot in common, much more because we just enjoy each others company.

Good luck and best wishes to you with your new old friend

…we've mostly picked up where we left off as friends and have moved forward as friends. It's been over 10 years since we became reacquainted. We get along well not necessarily because we have a lot in common, much more because we just enjoy each others company.’

I think this describes most reignited friendships. Some run deeper than others, depending on what you might have in common.

One in particular for me was a friend who moved away when we were in 10th grade. She kept in touch with another girl in our group who unfortunately passed away of a brain tumor about 15 years ago, but it brought us back together. She wanted to revisit the town where she grew up and show her husband the places she talked about. So we have stayed in touch and have visited each other several times and found our common ground once again. Fortunately our spouses also liked each other and we have an enjoyable couple of days.

That's great, @rob333 (zone 7b). Glad you the contact had positive results. I've been thinking that I might contact a couple of my high school friends the next time I visit my hometown. I've never attended a high school reunion, but I wouldn't mind a luncheon with those two who I knew from childhood through high school.

Fun ~ go for it! I never went to HS reunions except for the 5th back in 1969. No need to, as the friends I really cared about were the ones I always kept up with thru all the years. Now these same six friends and I gather together in person once a year on the Maine coast for a long weekend and it is as if we just were together yesterday, every time. (Known one since we were 5, two since 4th grade and the others since HS)

Of course, these days, keeping in touch throughout the rest of the year is easy, with emails, phoning and cards. Which is wonderful! We never run out of conversation, lol. =)

I went to a couple of high school reunions out of curiosity. And, because as I said, I'd moved away and was only in communication with a few. I went to a large high school in a large city so my fellow alumni pool in my graduating class was very large.

At each, I circulated around to mingle, almost like speed dating. I figured there was a limited amount of time to discover who was there, so I wanted to cover the crowd. I said Hi to everyone I encountered. Funny thing, the people I thought were jerks all those years back, with whom I never wanted to spend time or be friendly, were still jerks. I was cordial to all and thankfully did come across more normal people I enjoyed visiting with. No new/old friendships were started and I figured that I'd already cherry-picked that crowd for the people to have and maintain friendships with.

I haven't gone to any more.

Just reading this now. Happy for all renewed contacts. Once I was 'orphaned' (parents dead), and because I'm the 'only child' of another 'only', the only people alive who share my past are my grammar school classmates and neighborhood pals -- not so much HS or college friends.