Old Friends

I was lucky enough to have a brief reunion with Lesli, Christy and Sarah Saturday night. Lesli and Christy came into Louisville from Evansville, Sarah lives there and I drove in for the evening so we could all have dinner and go out for one night.

I can't remember the last time I saw them. I've been away from Evansville since April, so it's probably that long.

I was very lucky to make friends with these girls during my two plus years in Southwest Indiana. I'm beginning to believe they are rare friendships that no matter where we move in life, are important to hold onto.

The people in the news business can be interesting. While everyone is usually very friendly, finding someone who is a true friend is a much different story. I think that may have to do with a lot of factors, but a lot of me thinks it has to do with the competition behind what we do and many times girls and competition don't mix. I remember stories from other stations in Evansville, how people in those newsrooms worked and how petty some of the people can be. I was very lucky not to have that at FOX. Really, we had the complete opposite. Though it took me a few months to find my comfort zone we had a great group of girls who got along in an unusual way. In fact, for about six months we would all get together once a month, just the girls. There were about 10 of us total. We had Halloween parties, Christmas parties with gift exchanges, we went out dancing, went bowling. It was wonderful. It didn't matter who you were, everyone was included. Everyone was invited and everyone had a good time.

I'm not sure I'll find a group like that again. Not because people aren't nice, but I think it just happened that the girls there were all at pretty common places in life. For awhile none of us had kids and only a few were married, but even after some had babies, it became such an important tradition leaving the kids home for a night was never a problem.

It's an experience I'm glad I got. It makes me realize how everyone one of these moves I make in my life is like a new layer, a new personality. Between college, even high school and now, I'm still the same person, but much more complex thanks to experiences at each stop. I can feel that Evansville layer slowly fading to the background while I build up the experiences from Lexington that will make a lasting imprint into who I am. I feel lucky to have that as part of me. Yes, there is something to say for stability, living where you grew up and having long term friends from childhood, but there is something amazing about soaking up what you can from the people you're with and the places you're in for a few years and moving onto to the next to see what you can gain from the experience.

I am very lucky to have gained the friendships of these girls during in my Evansville layer.