Dear Beth, This year, marks our 20th year of friendship! I wish I could be with you today for another good laugh, to catch-up on our lives – to have a tea or coffee, share a meal. I wish I could be there today to say “thank you and have a great trip! “ You are blazing the trail for the rest of us! SO COOL! Enjoy the ride! I can hear you now - saying….“What-eva!… as you would say in your fake and comical NY/Boston accent. HA! We met while working together at the AMNH and have remained friends ever since! We helped each other in many ways during these years. Working together, getting jobs, sharing life experiences – good and bad. You helped me learn to work in NYC and learn what to do and not to do. You taught me how to get around the city. and appreciate the big city experience. You made me more street smart. I am very grateful for that. We’ve enjoyed opening our homes and lives with each other, sharing our family and friends, sending pictures of each other’s flowers. My family and friends will miss you almost as much as me! Beth, you are a Lifetime friend. Enjoy the next journey Beth! Love, Coleen Are you a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime? People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on. Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season. LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. — Unknown