Because I am lucky enough to work in education, my time off at Christmas is longer than for those in other professions. I do not take this for granted. I use my time to be with family, visit with friends, and read. I went to my parents' house in NJ for Christmas and was able to see six different high school friends, three of whom I have not seen in two years or more. While Facebook has put me in touch with many friends I had not stayed in close contact with, I find it also substitutes for "real" contact. We feel like we know what is going on in each other's lives because we read the posts and see the pictures, but those are only a small, edited part of someone's life. One of my New Year's resolutions is to stay in much closer touch with people I do not want to disappear from my life. Sadly, some of these thoughts have been prompted by the recent death of someone who was once a close friend. After I moved away from NJ we lost touch. I had a rough two years after I moved and allowed too many friendships to fall away. I have regretted this, but was not sure how to repair the damage. For the past two days, memories have been swirling around my brain about my time at MTHS and the friends I have there. I do not want to lose that part of my life, as I had life-defining experiences at that school, with those friends.
Friday I will travel to NJ knowing I am seeing people in their lowest moments, and even if they ignore me completely, I want to be there to offer any support I can. I want to begin to repair the friendships in the hopes that next time we are together it will be for happier reasons.
RIP Tara Sullivan Gardner