A reason, a season, a lifetime, that is the question.

 People come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime.   Sometimes they make appearances a few times which leaves you wondering which one they are?  With the age of technology, it is easier to reconnect with people from the past.  Those phone numbers that I still remember from childhood are no longer valid and that's sad because those are the only phone numbers I remember still.  It is strange how certain memories and people just pop into your head out of the blue.  A few days ago, I remembered it was my childhood best friend's birthday.  How do I still remember that?  We reconnected many years ago on the book of Face - it became pretty clear we were not on the same page about life anymore so that rekindling fizzled out.  But at least we both were able to catch up and reminisce which was so precious to me.  I also reconnected with a neighbor/classmate from Elementary school - he lost his yearbooks in a flood, and I was able to send him screenshots of the pages of them and he was so grateful.  It's funny because I was terrified of him in Elementary school and passing him in the halls of jr. high and high school and I just thought he was such a tough guy, burnout, bully.  Turns out he is one of the sweetest guys ever - he gave me some juicy gossip from the halls of elementary school.  Things that I could never have even fathomed as a kid.  I was definitely a sheltered girl (thankfully!).  He never fails to wish me a happy Mother's Day, merry Christmas, pretty much any holiday.  It is always a reminder to me that you can't judge a book by its cover.  

A few years back I had breakfast with an old friend from kindergarten.  We weren't close in High School; she was super popular and I....was not 😉 She remains one of the kindest and sweetest people I have ever known.  We got kicked out of the diner that day for taking up a booth for 4 hours.  She was one of the people who went out of her way when my son had cancer.  We hadn't seen or spoken to each other in decades, yet there she was.  Funny how the people you expect to be there for you somehow are not yet someone you waved to in the hallways of high school shows up.   Another person who showed up is my very first boyfriend from first grade.  He used to bring me Necco candies and leave them on my desk.  When my son had cancer, his wife was sending a baseball hat from their local team, and he made sure they put Necco candies in that box.  I cried like a baby when I saw those...to know that the memory was one that neither one of us forgot-it was over 30 years ago! We both live in Florida, and he lost his wife a few years back.  We have been trying to get together for the past year and just haven't made it happen.  We really need to because we aren't getting any younger, that's for sure!  These are the people that I am not sure if they are the reasons or the seasons, but they could be lifetime. 

The thing that got me really contemplating this was a phone call with my work bestie from the 90's.  We have lived nearly parallel lives in so many ways! And we spent 5 days a week together and then some weekends.  Lunch hours every day for nearly 2 years.  We were there when our first babies were born...baby showers, bridal showers, her wedding.  We used to catch up every few years, but lately we have been trying to make it more frequent.  It is so good for my soul to have those conversations.  The ones where you don't have to hold anything back and you know the other person will just understand.  We both just let everything hang out and I know our Sunday coffee chats will be more and more frequent.  Text messages just aren't the same.

So, this brings me to the question (you know I had one) .... how do you know if someone is meant for a reason, a season or a lifetime?  I mean some are super obvious.  Especially the reason and the season ones.  For example, the friends I made when I was in the PTA....they were seasonal.  That was a time in my life that was brief and that was it.  The ones who come for a reason?  A little bit trickier to determine.  I mean everyone comes into your life for a reason, no?  But I suppose there are certain relationships that are for a specific reason.  To teach you something.  To make you feel something.  To give you the specific children that you have, to teach you something about yourself.  But the lifetime ones.... that's tricky.   Because we don't know what tomorrow will bring.  And I suppose, we won't know for sure if they are lifetime ones until, well.... the end of our lifetime.  I guess all we can do is treasure every moment we have with people while we have them.  Don't take a single one for granted, because who knows if the reason or the season will end, and it will be just a day in the life.