old friends

Today I will be having coffee with an old friend who happens to be in town for a short time.

I am different person today than I was 30 years ago. With the passage of time we evolve. We learn from mistakes, experience life's bumps and bruises, make adjustments and change. The things we've done and the places we've been help make us who we are today. Our roots are a reflection of parts of us.

I have many happy memories from my youth, and some not so happy. I was blessed to have made some great friends back then. They added so much to my world, and I am glad to have spent those years with them.

I don't live in the past ... anyone who does robs time from the present, but it's nice to spend time with old friends once in a while. It's comforting in a way to be reminded that there are people on this earth that you have that special shared past with.

Most of us want to feel connected. Thank goodness for old friends, and the happy memories that can come from seeing them.

connections

I like how one thing leads to another sometimes.

I was organizing some of my online bookmarks a couple of days ago, and came across a link to a site that allows users to construct their family tree.

So ... I've started to plug in family members and some of the information needed. It's a bit of hunt at times, trying to fill in dates and places ...

The process has also stirred up memories of my parents who passed on years ago ... stirring memories from my childhood ... and as I add some of their connections to the family tree I try to imagine Europe and the origins of some of my relatives.

It is an interesting learning experience ... clarifying connections and preserving important information for others.

I look forward to finding out a little more about some of the people I am connected to as the tree evolves.

partnerships

As Janice and I combine our households, we know we have some adjusting to do.

In our new adventure, we look forward to being a supportive and caring couple, who want the best for each other. That being said, each of us brings to the new relationship a little bit of baggage from past relationships. We both have been married before, and had other relationships, and know what we don't want ... we are two individuals who are merging their lives. One of the great things about us is our ability to understand and respect each other.

In any successful relationship there needs to be compromise. Everyone has needs, and if enough of those needs are being met, the people in the relationship are usually motivated to continue the relationship.

As we have been unpacking, each of us has been discarding some of our stuff ... lets face it, you can't keep everything. It's another opportunity to simplify and de-clutter. Some things are going into storage, and some stuff to the goodwill.

We have had a year and a half to get to know each other and we have confidence that our future together will be wonderful. We communicate well with each other, respect and love each other, think the same way about many things, and enjoy many of the same activities.

We discuss decisions together. We've had a decent amount of time together to allow us to get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

I believe that my happily ever after began the day I met her.

Any relationship is what you make it. Our success relies on our ongoing commitment to each other. It's easy to be optimistic at the beginning of a relationship ... and we both know that good partnerships require a certain vigilance. As time goes on, many couples often end up taking each other for granted. One of our common goals is to remain an advocate for each other ... to stay strong in our new union, and continue to live, love and laugh together...