Nostalgia

Nostalgia - a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and  friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time

What is happening to me? As I age, I find myself getting more and more, dare I say it, sentimental about a lot of things. That odd transformation manifested itself this weekend as I found myself in the desert I once called home.

I've seen family and friends, some visits planned and some by happy accident. It's all made me a bit nostalgic. I had lunch with two friends, one I have known since we served as missionaries more than twenty five years ago. The other I have not seen in nearly fifteen years, but we picked up right where we left off. Well, we are both a lot grayer. We're both grandfathers and one of us has expanded the real estate known as his waste line more than the other (guilty as charged). Both lunches, at dueling taco joints, were great opportunities to connect and reminisce. During one of the lunches, I ran into this great friend:

Years ago, she and her husband and the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and I were in cahoots all the time. We had children the same age. We had a lot in common. We had a great time together. Today, we are grandparents. We still have a lot in common. Such a great surprise!

It's been a good time with family as well. My sister and I met for waffles from the awesome My Waffle Crush truck (this place rules - Arizonans, run to this truck when it's in your 'hood!) and had a great time together. It was good to catch up. I'm really proud of her. We were sorry our brother couldn't join us but it's spring in Arizona and he needed to take advantage of it for spring landscaping. He's a new dad too, so a lot going on.

I can't believe how nostalgic this weekend has made me. Lots of good stuff happened here in our family / friend history. It's been good to revisit it. Really good. That said, I'm really grateful for all that we've done since we lived here all those years ago. The experiences have been for our good. Even the never-ending winters. Really. I mean it. Really.