I recently read, on another person's journal, about the friend that got away. You know the one - you were "best friends forever", "blood sisters or brothers", shared the broken in half heart necklace. Then one day they were gone. Maybe they moved away before you started to drive, so it was hard to go see them, or they went to another school, or even another state. You swore to one another that nothing would ever drive you two apart, that no matter what the distance, you would do everything in your power to see each other as often as possible.

But, before you know it, it's been a few weeks since you've seen the other; then a few months. You still talk all the time, but you both have so much going on that you can't seem to find a spare minute for the other. Then the phone calls stop coming as frequently. Letters are fewer and further between (I'm going back a little past the e-mail craze, so bear with me), Maybe the e-mails stop coming to, for that matter.

Suddenly you realize you haven't seen or heard from your best friend in a long, long time. So long, you can't honestly remember when it was. You promise yourself that as soon as you get home from school or work that day you're going to pick up the phone and give them a call. But, on the way home, one of your new friends call and ask if you want to do something. Before you know it another month has gone by and you still haven't made that call.

So, I started thinking last night about my two friends that got away. One was from grade school and the other was from high school. Lauren and Gretchen, respectively. I decided in this wonderful world of technology that we live in, I have to be able to find out what happened to them. Last I heard of Gretchen, she was living in Georgia and about to get married. That was probably ten years ago. Lauren was still up in Carroll County, I think, and I believe she was about to get married as well. That might have been around the same time.

I am going to find those two girls, come hell or high water, just to at least be able to write them a letter, send them an e-mail, give them a call - just to say hello. I want to know if they're still married (sad, but true!), how many kids they have, if any, and where they are now.

I know things will never be the way they were; we're all completely different people than who we were back then, but they were my friends. And I miss them!

If anyone else out there decides to take this challenge as well, which I hope you do, let me know by posting a comment. Then, give us updates on your progress, as I will do with mine.

GOOD LUCK!!