I believe that people are destined to meet for one reason or another. We have certain factors that are out of our control. Family members, for instance, we do not have any control over who we get. We just have to deal with the good and the bad. Friends on the other hand, we have control over. We may not understand the reason for the friendship, but we each serve a purpose for one another. Sometimes, the friendship is meant to be short lived and sometimes it is meant to be for a lifetime. I met my friends Suzy, Liza and Evelyn when Matthew was a wee tot attending Chinese school out in Long Island. Yes, Tony and I would schlep our child on a Sunday morning for the 45 minute ride from Connecticut out to Nassau County, Long Island. Technically, this ride would take longer on a normal day, but on a Sunday, the roads are pretty clear. This was a weekly excursion that comprised of our arrival at the school by 8:55 a.m. Since we traveled from the furthest point, we were always the first to arrive at school. This of course, included the mandatory pit stop at Dunkin' Donuts on the way.
Over the years, more kids have been added to the families and low and behold, we have been friends now for almost 10 years. Amazing how this chance meeting has created a wonderful support system for all of us. Since we've been back, Tony will often catch me on the phone with Suzy or Evelyn late at night until the early hours of the morning. No matter where we are, we are always there for one another. We laugh together, eat together and cry together.
One of the nice perks of this relationship is we would manage to see each other every summer. These reunions take place somewhere in the tri-state area. Sometimes, we would have surprise reunions. Matthew and I had an opportunity to visit Liza and her children in Qingdao when we were living in China. We had a wonderful time and memories that will last a life time. She came back to the States to spend the summer with the kids at their home in Long Island. After weeks of coordinating, we were finally able to have a reunion at Suzy's place. Complete with food, drinks, kids running around in circles and Ollie, the new family pet, we had a wonderful time catching up. Liza's going to leave with the kids to return to Qingdao and Suzy and I will probably have another eating festival planned soon. Then we'll do this again next summer when Liza returns again.
