In the fall of 2002, I was a scared but determined college freshman entering St. Mary's University in Winona. I really viewed my new venture as a fresh start and had challenged myself to get out and meet people and make friends. High school was good, but I was very shy, and seldom put myself out there for fear of not fitting in or worse, being teased. My goal at that time was just to blend in. But a new phase of life meant the opportunity to redefine myself, so I decided I was going to take risks and act much, much braver than I felt.
I met Liam in my first few days on campus, through our mutual interest in music. He was a sophomore, and he invited me to watch South Park the Movie in the basement of Yon's Hall with a bunch of music folks. I remember a couple things about that night; First, I recall laughing a ton and second, I felt like I had found the people who would be my family throughout my next four years. Our group was always together - we ate meals together, made music together, and hung out most nights until the wee hours of the morning. We traveled to Ireland and France, led music at church, and went to fraternity dances. We got to know each other's families. And we made many, many, many midnight trips to Perkins.
Brigid and I have been fortunate to stay close in touch over the past several years. Right now Brig lives in Madison and visits every couple months. But Liam moved to Texas about ten years ago for his work, and aside from his wedding and mine, we haven't seen each other since graduation. The other day, out of the blue, I got a message from him saying that he was in Minneapolis for the week and was wondering if we could meet up. Brig and I quickly got to work on the plans so we could maximize our time with our long-lost friend.
We were able to meet him and our good friend, Bob, bright and early in the morning for a delicious breakfast at Jensen's Café. Despite not seeing each other in nearly seven years, it was like we hadn't spent a day apart. We were soon laughing and reminiscing and a couple of hours flew by in a flash. After breakfast Brig, Liam, and I headed on to Stillwater to see the Ice Castles. They were gorgeous and really impressive, with a whole maze of icy walls, caves, and slides to explore. After an hour or so we needed to warm up, so we headed across the street for a coffee and some good conversation. We spent the next few hours realizing that though time and distance has prevented us from seeing each other, our friendship is still as alive and strong as ever.
Our last stop was Applebee's, where we met up with Patrick and Lindsy for dinner. I had a really hard time during dinner and uncharacteristically kept breaking into tears. Part of it was being really, really happy to be part of such a beautiful friendship. The other part was being really, really sad that we have no idea when our paths may cross again. This time with these dear friends made me see how perfectly our friendship would fit into my current life, if distance weren't such an obstacle. It made me wish that somehow things were a little different, so I could spend more time with these special people. Most of all, it made me thankful for the beautiful and amazing blessing these precious friends have been in my life. So to these wonderful people: thank you for the memories and I can't wait to make more!
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