Knew vs Know

We are now houseless in Kentucky. The closing went off without a hitch yesterday, and I gotta tell you, it feels good to not own a home that we aren't living in. So this closes a chapter of our life that was so big and so real. It makes me think of other times and long-ago chapters that have been closed and seemingly forgotten. Then I got a call from my high school buddy Susan. We haven't talked in over 27 years, and when the voice on the other end said, “Kim, this is Susan,” the little girl in me started jumping up and down with excitement! She and her husband, Eddie, are living in Bentonville, and that’s so close it’s crazy. So we are going to try to get together next week when my sister comes for a visit. Should be great fun. So that chapter has been reopened, and I hope it stays that way.

I posted yesterday on Facebook that we sold the house, and a new friend said, “Welcome to Arkansas,” and an old friend said, “Welcome HOME.” It always amazes me that your old friends know what to say and when to say it. It probably has something to do with the history shared and the life already lived with each other. So there are two sets of people in most of our lives—the ones that knew you and the ones that know you. The ones that knew you are the ones that tell you who has sent in their checks for the 30th class reunion and expect you to be impressed. I didn't hang out with them then, so why do they feel it's so important for me to know this information? I was not in with the "in" crowd, but I wasn't an outcast either. I guess the best way of saying it is how Susan and I talked about it yesterday. We were on the edges, the fringes of the class of 1980. Never made homecoming court, never dated anyone in my own class but was part of the group pictures. 

It's funny, opening and closing chapters of the book of your life. I left Arkansas over 23 years ago and have had the time of my life out there. I am becoming someone that God has had in mind all along. Not exactly whom you knew, but not exactly someone you don't know either. Now I'm home, and I'm ready to start new chapters that will cause me to grow and be stretched in ways that haven't happened yet. I'm excited, and the big girl in me is starting to jump up and down!