Connections

When people work with me on their memoirs, they often start by focusing on the facts—what happened, when, and where. From there, I encourage them to dig a little deeper, recalling how they felt about those experiences and how those moments shaped their lives. Our trip to Germany reminded me of another important part of our personal histories: the connections we make along the way, some of which turn into lifelong friendships.

Consider the winding paths that brought our group together. There was Lisa, whom we met through her ex-husband, a former colleague of mine. She also celebrated my husband’s 30th, 40th, and 50th birthdays with us. Dave H., whose ex-wife I met in an Introduction to Public Relations class in college, shares my husband’s passion for travel. The two have explored India, Russia, Turkey, and Dubai together. Cindy has known my husband literally since birth—their grandmothers were best friends. Thom and Dave D. are fraternity brothers and repeat offenders, having already traveled to Europe with us four times. And Peter first crossed paths with my husband when he was an industry analyst covering the field in which my husband worked.

Different decades, different circumstances, different paths. Yet somehow, all these people ended up dancing on a table together in a beer tent in Munich.

How lucky is he to have built and maintained friendships so meaningful that these people would travel halfway around the world to celebrate with him?

It also reminded me of something worth remembering when telling our own life stories. The people who enter our lives—and the sometimes unlikely ways we meet them—deserve a place in the narrative. After all, some of our very best memories and stories exist because of the people who shared them with us.