I made a new friend over Thanksgiving. His name is Mitch, and in some ways, I think we were meant to meet. Mitch seemed a little nervous to meet me too. One could tell that he was dressed to impress by the sleek black cover he was donning, and he had cleaned himself up to shine.
When I first looked at him, I felt this odd connection-- as if an old comrade had all of a sudden walked into the room. Mitch looks incredibly similar to a friend I had during my stint in Micronesia. My old friend and I would sit underneath the porch of our home, and have hours of fun while the rain poured from the heavens a few feet away from us. He would also sit with me as I graded essays and did lesson planning on a lazy Sunday afternoon in my open air classroom. On a special staff luncheon, he even participated in a show with me and some other teachers!
However, like a tide rising and then retreating, my time in Micronesia had to come to an end after almost a year. I said goodbye to my friend, probably never to see him again.
When I saw Mitch, a lot of island memories came flooding back and like a washer on the rinse cycle, swirled around and around my mind. I am so happy to have found Mitch
(or that Mitch had found me)-- because now I can have a new friend over here too.
