15 years later - I wish you the best!

Yesterday I met for dinner with a bunch of women who I had not seen for at least 15 years. I occasionally run into a few of them at the grocery store or Tim Horton's or the Second Cup or even in the halls of British Columbia's Children's Hospital where most of us work.

Unfortunately, those quick meetings are always at the expense of having to go somewhere else, pick up children somewhere, need to get to a meeting somewhere or to see a patient somewhere. Nonetheless, we make time to exchange the quickest of hugs and hellos and a very heartfelt "I'm so glad to see you. I miss you". Needless to say these stolen few seconds of every day life are never enough to bring ourselves up to date.

So yesterday we met. We met!!!! We had 15 years of catchup to do. When we were together 15 years ago some of us were struggling with major life decisions and now those decisions have been made and I am proud to say they led us down a good path.  Some of us were beginning new careers now we are old farts who know what we are doing. 15 years ago a few of us were pregnant now those kids are adolescents!!!

Last night, we shared happy and sad moments. We remembered patients lost and we thanked them for the learning they provided. We remembered colleagues. We reminisced about the past.  I thanked them for the shower they threw me when I was pregnant with Sebastian and I also thanked them for looking in on Benjamin when he was intubated in the special care nursery, a task that they did willingly (sometimes in the middle of the night) when I was not there. I thanked them for all of the things they taught me when I began my career as a doctor in Canada. I thanked them for their friendship and company, EVEN if we have not seen each other in a very long time.

We gossiped too, a lot!!!! Really, what reunion is a good reunion without it's good share of gossip?  We laughed and laughed.

I am glad to say that 15 years later we are mostly healthy and mostly happy. Last night we looked back but we also looked forward. Forward to new adventures, to new challenges, to the joy of grandchildren (really Joan, a grandmother? IMPOSSIBLE to believe as my kids said when I showed them the pictures because Joan you should know, looks like a teenager).

I look forward to the next 15 years. I look forward to seeing you all again in the halls at Children's, or the neighbourhood, or the coffee shop or the grocery store and catching a quick glance of each other while on our hurried way to something else and quietly thinking "We did well didn't well? I can't talk right now but you know, I WISH YOU THE BEST!".