Knowing what's important

I've had the opportunity this week to visit good friends from college in Chicago and to attend a family reunion in rural Southern Illinois. I've also spent time wandering around my college campus (Illinois Wesleyan University -- I would highly recommend it to any college seekers). All of this has brought home the importance of relationships.

My friends and I were laughing about some of the issues we fought for (and against) while in college and were amazed at how important they seemed to be at the time and how unimportant they seem to be now. I'm sure if we look at what is important to us now, in ten years, we'll be able to laugh about how trivial those same issues seem to be then.

The point of all this rambling is, what has really endured over the past 30 years is the connections. Connections to friends and family that have kept us moving forward through all of those seemingly "critical" issues that come and go each day. I guess it's important that we worry about jobs, mortgages, and other daily life issues, but it's equally as important to make time for those who are truly important.

Although it was challenging to get four families from all over the country to the same place at the same time, the four hours of laughing and reminiscing refreshed and invigorated us to go and face the world. It reaffirmed an anchor and more importantly, the kids got to meet and get to know each other. The families are beginning to become intertwined for longer than just 4 years in college. Who knows how important that tie will be in future generations.

Thoughts anyone?