Where have the years gone?

I dearly loved my cousins in Manassa. It was good to share our lives with one another.

If I had run into EJ on the street, nose to nose, I'm afraid that I wouldn't have known him, but when I saw his boys, each of them bears his father's mark.

I used to love it when EJ would come into the Filling station in Manassa. Dad would give him a soda and a sack of peanuts. He would sit in the old desks in the station and swing his feet as he drank his pop.

I went on a mission and away to school. EJ and his family moved to Arizona. I don't think I saw him more than once or twice in the years that followed. Many years later, when I was in Arizona to visit my Mother, EJ and his wife took me in for the night and made me feel welcome.

Last year, I was diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid and was uneasy about the diagnosis. I was grateful when EJ reached out offer his support. It was so good to talk to him, and how I yearned for those simpler times in my life. Alas, we can't turn the clock back.

I was excited today when I saw Doris Faye and some of her family on Facebook. That's where I pulled the picture above. I am hoping that although we can't go back in time, we'll be able to rekindle some of the relationships that we hold dear.