o Do you remember your college days?  Your college roommates?  Do you remember with affection or horror?  I had the most wonderful experience recently.  After a 46 year hiatus, I met my college roommate for a lunch and walk along the Atlantic Ocean.  So many great memories, but what actually struck me most was how my memories often were not the same as hers.  (And, she remembered things I had no recollection about, either.)  My favorite …Mouse.  I’ve used this event as a metaphor so many time in my personal and professional life.

We were in our dorm room.  She saw a mouse and went (I'm not kidding), "Eek!"  I, very calmly said, "Oh, Cathy, it's not a big deal; only a mouse," as I picked up a broom (why did we have a broom in our room?), and swished it toward the mouse who quickly disappeared somehow.

That's not the end of the story, tho.  About a week later, again in our doom room, and this time I am the one to see the mouse first.  You guessed it!  I scream, "Eek," and jump on the bed, and she calmly said, "Oh, Karen Gail, it's not a big deal; only a mouse," as she picked up the very same broom (that probably hadn't been used since), and swished it toward the mouse who quickly disappeared in the same miraculous way.

The moral:  Whoever sees the "event" first, gets to be the weak one, but hat means the other has the privilege of being the strong one -- even if it changes each time!

Our lives have taken us in such very different directions, but seeing her brought me back to age 18.  I can hardly believe it’s been 46 years.  (We left for different life experiences after our sophomore year.)

So, Cathy (who, among other things, sells Avon – which is lots more than just make-up now) is a great grandmother, several times over.  Shortly after I graduated college I decided not to have children.  She lives in the South, and despite having grown up in the south, I’m all for snow and cold, and ice and sleet; anything but sun and heat.  But, we are still both about 5 feet tall, and we still laugh a lot.

What a treat to find her again.  Would we be friends if we just met now?  Probably not, but we have a history, and that is worth everything.

It was only a quirk that got me to contact her again.  So, if you have any old roommates, or friends from long ago, give a serious thought about hearing how that person saw you back then!  It’s quite an eye-opener.