The hot chocolate wasn’t the last pleasure of our trip.

Later in our last day, we met my friend G. and her 5-year-old daughter, D, at the Café Rigolo in Laurel Village.

D is very precocious and at one point, pulled FLH aside and said “Come here and play, they talk too much!”.

Indeed.

G’s sister, S, joined us toward the end of the afternoon. Although we kept loosely connected over the years, and our various travels, I had not seen either in some 20+ years.

Still, neither geography nor circumstances need stand in the way of connections. And they didn’t.

Although I hadn’t seen them since they were about 12 and 17, the girls looked like I thought they would.

I knew the girls from my high tech days, when I briefly dated their father. They were very young but I was crazy about them. I always say I dated their father for the girls, who were exceptional then, as they are now. If you have read the blog I follow called Growing Inside, then, you know how exceptional G is. She’s the blogger.

G and her family will be leaving for the Midwest next month, as her husband is going to complete his rabbinical studies. But S lives in the City and so I’m certain that I will see her from time to time.

Staying connected seems even more important in this second half of life. And I loved the smiles on those two women’s faces (I almost said “girls” again, and they aren’t.) They grew into fantastic women and I’m glad they’re in my life.

Relationships are a funny thing.

If you’re open to receiving, the unexpected gifts they bring can sometimes be better than the relationship ever could have been.