FINAL Follow-Up to "I Did Something Crazy!"

Well, it's been a month since I sent the letter to my former best friend, Eric (aka Carlos). I was really hoping that I would hear something…anything…from himeven if it was just to say, “Leave me alone.” However, I have heard nothing…absolutely nothing.

I am quite disappointed. I have had three dear friends in this life…I have re-established relationships with two of them (Matt and Laura), but apparently, re-establishing a relationship with Eric is not meant to be.

Matt and I have known each other for nearly 20 years. We went through a few years of not talking to each other at all (long story), but we put all that behind us, and we’ve been friends now for many years. I’m confident that we will remain friends for many more years to come. As for Laura, it’s great to have her around again. We were never the best at keeping in touch, but we’ve now established the understanding that we may not always communicate, but we are always there if needed. She’s truly one of my dearest friends, and it really helps that she lives so close to me now!

I am hoping that these friendships will continue to change and grow. Nevertheless, I have to say that I am saddened by not hearing from Eric. I just have to resign myself to the fact that I have done my part. I have tried, but it just did not work out as I had hoped. I don’t know what mistakes I made with Eric, but I will try my best to never let anything like this happen with any of my other friends.

I was really hoping that I would hear something…anything…from him…

Our Wonderful Weekend

What a great weekend we had this past weekend! Although it was extremely busy, it was extremely fun, and I’m extremely disappointed that it’s over. Oh, well…all good things…blah, blah, blah!

What made the weekend so wonderful, you might ask. Well, in case you didn’t already know it, Scott (Curt’s son), Jessie (Scott’s wife), Ethan (our grandson), and Logan (our grandson, Ethan’s brother) drove from their home in Myrtle Beach to visit the family here in Ohio. It was the weekend of Matthew’s second birthday party. (Matthew is our grandson who lives locally.) For the first time, the gang stayed with us at our house. (We finally had a bedroom for them to stay in, thanks to all the remodeling we’ve done!)

It was so much fun!

We did lots of things in the few days we had together. We (Curt and I) visited with them ourselves. On Friday, we took them to visit with Curt’s parents, which was the first time Curt’s parents got to see their newest great-grandchild, Logan. We stopped by my office so the girls at work could see the kids in person, instead of just photos. Then, on Saturday, after a lovely morning together, we met up again at Matthew’s birthday party. It was so much fun to see all the kids playing together and watching Ethan flirt with the adorable little girls (all sisters) at the party. On Sunday, we had the Bauns and the Ottersons/Currys over to our house to spend some time with everyone. My mom even came into town early to go to church with me at New Hope. (She really enjoyed it, which also made me very happy.) Since we didn’t get to spend Easter with Ethan and Logan, we did an Easter-egg hunt for Ethan on Sunday. Jake (our nephew) and Megan (our niece) helped him hunt for his eggs and open them all when he was finished. We played outside, playing hockey (the older “kids”), swinging on the swing, and blowing bubbles. After the Otterson/Curry crew headed back to PA, we took everyone over to see “Aunt Jennifer’s” new house. After the tour of the new house, it was a quick stop at the store and then home to crash.

On Monday morning, the fun ended when they packed up to go back to Myrtle Beach. They left early in the morning, before Curt and I had to go to work. It was fun while it lasted, and I can’t wait to do it again.

I told Curt that I think it’s our turn to go there…to the sunny south…but I don’t know if I can talk him into it or not. All I can do is try.

I’d love to write out everything that went on, just so I can look back on it one day and remember. I just don’t have the time, right now. Maybe I will be able to do it over the next few days and/or weeks. It was just such a wonderful time, and I wanted to share it with everyone!

Follow-Up to "I did something crazy!"

It’s been a week since I mailed the letter to Eric. Since he only lives an hour from me, I’m assuming that he would have received it on Friday or Saturday (at the latest). I have not heard anything yet. Should I be disappointed? Should I just give it up? I’m not quite sure what to think. I provided him with everything he needed to contact me; I even gave him my schedule.

I think I’ll give it a few more days - maybe a week - before I give up completely.

I did something crazy!

I know, that may be hard to believe (not), but I did. To make a long story short, I wrote a letter to someone with whom I have not communicated in over a year. Now, let me explain a little bit more, and you may see why I think it’s crazy.

I wrote a letter to Eric (aka Carlos). Carlos was my best friend from sixth grade all the way through college and beyond. He stuck by me through some really tough stuff; we were always together. When we started college (at BC3), I used to give him a ride every day. Then, when he transferred to Slippery Rock, I would pick him up on Fridays to bring him home. When I started skating in 1993, he would go with me just so I didn’t have to go alone. He’d sit in the snack bar or a corner somewhere and read.

Now, I’m not really sure what happened, but as sometimes happens with friends, we grew apart. I moved to Boardman and eventually got married. He is still in Butler, and that’s about all I know anymore.

The last communication (email) I can find from him was in December 2007. I’ve tried emailing several times, but I haven’t had a response since that one in 2007. (In that last email, he mentioned that he was having trouble with his email, so he may have a new email address.) I tried sending a text message to his cell phone, but I never got a response either. (Just so you know, I hesitate to call since I do not know what kind of schedule he keeps.) I finally decided that, as my last attempt, I would write him a letter and mail it to the last known address that I have.

I first got the urge to contact him around the Holidays. In addition, some of the messages at New Hope over the past months have been about relationships and fixing broken ones. This is one relationship that I would really like to fix. Plus, as some of you may know, Carlos and I were both really into Star Trek, and with the new Trek movie coming out, I think about him even more often. I have never had another friend like him, and I don’t know that I ever will.

We’ll just wait and see what happens if/when he receives the letter. What a crazy move, huh?