Not a statement I would expect to hear on a Saturday morning at my local Panera while having coffee with  my sister and aunt.  But, indeed, I heard just that.  While chatting away over my orange scone and hazelnut coffee I noticed that my friend Lynne was coming into the restaurant.  I’ve written about Lynne before; we’ve known each other for more than 40 years!

I’ve been so busy lately getting a handle on my new job; I spend most of my “free” time either hibernating in my home to recover from the week, or playing catch up on tasks that continue to hang over my head.  I’ve been absent from family functions, not on Facebook catching up on news of friends; I haven’t been to a movie in six months!  But this morning was like a V-8 smack to the forehead, a reminder that my life is not my work!

The line about Guam comes from the fact that we live in Rhode Island–not a foreign country. It’s the smallest state in the union at 1,214 square miles, of which 1,045 are land and 169 are water.  It takes less than an hour to get from one end of the state to the other.  Many Rhode Islanders don’t even vacation outside of the state lines, opting instead to rent a beach house only half an hour away from the city or suburb they live in year-round.  So, the fact that I can’t find the time or wherewithal to travel the 5 minutes to the other side of the city to see my long-time friend is pretty inexcusable!

Today’s thank must go out to Lynne, for the not so gentle reminder that we need to see each other by design, not be accident; that my work does not need to come before my life!  Thank you my friend, I WILL see you again very soon!