Jill's Journal: Last call

Time goes so fast when you’re having fun.

And over the Christmas break, I had some fun with some longtime friends from home. As usual, Trisha boarded a plane from Sacramento, Calif., and I hit the road for my hour and 45-minute trek from Brandon to Minnesota. Not long after I arrived in St. James, unloaded the vehicle and freshened up, we headed “downtown” for dinner, drinks, laughs and most of all, picking up right where we left off in her last visit home in June.

That’s what friends of 55 years have the uncanny ability to do.

Pick up right where you left off, no matter the miles that may be between you.

Not long after our dinner plates had been cleared, another gal from our class of ’82, joined us at the table.

Jolene and I go way back, too. We attended the same church, which meant we spent years together attending Sunday school, Vacation Bible School and confirmation classes. And in our teens, we both worked at the same restaurant. I was even the cake cutter at her wedding.

So, as you can imagine, we had no trouble picking up where we left off the last time we saw one another.

The three of us talked about our lives, our work, classmates we haven’t seen in years, our upcoming class reunion, the 40th that’s scheduled for late June.

We laughed. And we talked. We had a few shots. And we talked some more. And we laughed some more. And before we knew it, the waitress came to our table to announce, “Last call.”

I looked at my watch just to make sure the waitress wasn’t “kicking us to the curb” too soon. And I was surely surprised to see that it read 12:30 a.m.

I don’t remember the last time I was out until “last call.” I’m usually fast asleep long before that hour hits the clock.

But that’s what friends of double-digit years have the uncanny ability to do. We can talk and laugh all night without giving the clock a consideration.And before you know it, it’s last call.