Faces

All I have is a picture of this woman. I don't even know her name. But for over seven hours one day, she was my best friend.

The day was the 2002 Marine Corps Marathon. As usual, I was out of shape and not prepared. But as usual, that did not deter me from entering. I jogged and wogged and walked my way through Washington, D.C. Along the course I kept seeing this lady with the turquoise shirt. First she would get ahead, then I would catch up and get ahead, then she'd catch up and get ahead, and then we'd repeat the process. We were together with a small group of others when the freeways were opened back up and we were dodging cars. We were together panting up the final hill when we heard the announcement that the finish line would be closing in fifteen minutes. We were together headed to the finish line when she turned to me and said, "Let's run it out." We did, we finished, and we received our medals. She helped me get where I wanted to be, and I am grateful.

I thought about this today as I was loading old pictures onto facebook, pictures of friends with whom I grew up. We all looked young and thin and ready for the world. When I first joined facebook, I didn't want to be friends with anyone from my past. I dreaded what they might think when they saw my current pictures. With the added weight and effects of 30+ years of living, what would they think? After all, I was sure they hadn't changed a bit! So, I resigned (or whatever you do) from facebook.

But then I decided to rejoin. I'm finding friends from the old days and enjoying learning about their lives. We've all changed, but I only see the friends as I knew them. I realize how thankful I am to have had them all in my life. Even though I haven't had contact with many of them in decades, just a picture or a note or a comment brings it all back - and it's all good, because they all helped to get me where I wanted to go.

I guess in the end, maybe it's not benchmarks that define our lives. Maybe it's the faces that we've seen along the way. Faces that may change over time and some that we may never see again. Behind each face is a story, a story that became part of our own story. Our story wouldn't be complete without theirs. But most important of all, we could never get to that finish line without them.