I didn’t forget. I just never did.
There’s a pretty popular song out right now by Keith Urban called Wasted Time and it always make me think of you. I’d say most of you have heard it, if not all of you.
I hate to do this, but really, it’s necessary. The good stuff is after this…
I’m smiling looking at this photograph
I hear that song and I’m flying right back
To when we had it made
Every Friday night when the sun went down
We’d be running them streets like we owned the town
And I just can’t let it go, no, I just can’t let it go
I wonder if you ever think about it like I do
Seven kids on a two lane road
Had the guns on the radio
After all this time it still feels, feels so good
When I think about those summer nights
Singing out the window, on the back roads, Sweet Child of Mine
Sipping on the local’s spark of light
Ain’t it funny how the best days of my life
Was all that wasted time, all that wasted time
Out of nowhere, it slipped away
And the rope by the river hangs silently
And the town that we knew ain’t nothing like it used to be
Ah, I can’t explain
They took all the color from the picture frame
And the days got sold to the grid and the game
And I just can’t let it go, no, I just can’t let it go
I wonder if you ever think about it like I do
Seven kids on a two lane road
We had the guns on the radio
After all this time it still feels, feels so good
When I think about those summer nights
Singing out the window, on the back roads, Sweet Child of Mine
Sipping on the local’s spark of light
Ain’t it funny how the best days of my life
Was all that wasted time, all that wasted time
Swinging on the line
Living all that wasted time
Hey, hey, now
Summer dresses drying out on the hood of the car
Only music that we had was out the left speaker
We were living every second ’til the time ran out
We had nothing but we had it all
When I think about those summer night
Sneaking out the window, running back roads
Your hand in mine
We were going nowhere, we were so alive
Uh huh, ain’t it crazy how the best days of my life
Was all that wasted time, all that wasted time
We were swinging out on the line
Living all that wasted time
Hey, you know oh
All that wasted time
Don’t you feel it coming on back now
Time, time, time
Now, to be fair, those weren’t THE best days of my life. As all of you know, I am now married and have a baby girl, and memories with the two of them make up THE best days of my life, but not ALL of the best days of my life.
Just like the song says, I don’t know when it happened… I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that literally every single one of us split ways and drifted, but we did. And I never said thank you.
Some of you… most of you… were there through some of the darkest days of my life. You knew me as well as I knew me. You wiped my tears. You sat in my bay window and let me cry until I drifted to sleep, so that I wasn’t alone. You force fed me when I wouldn’t eat. You called to check on me. You came the moment I need you… all of you, any of you. You made me laugh. You encouraged and strengthened my relationship with Christ. You followed me around while I was on crazy rampages and begged me to remember that I didn’t have pants on. You made me feel important and valued when others didn’t. You stuck with me when I allowed the shackles that I wore to control my life and didn’t think less of me for it. But the sad part is, you never got to see me break free. I couldn’t have done it without you.
It blows my mind that most of you have never met my husband personally. Nor Harper. That the most that you have seen of my life is through the window of social networking. I can’t believe that almost all of you were not at my wedding… or even invited to my wedding. Sometimes it makes me sad that I can’t share my elation in life with you…
But I just wanted to finally say… thank you. I am young, we are young. I am only 23 and I have a husband and a child. But I don’t feel like I have really missed out on life. Thanks to you all, I got to live all through high school. People who weren’t part of our group probably think I’m crazy to say that, but they don’t know us. I got to watch the sunrise on The Rock with you all. I got to drive through three states in one night but end up back home in my bed. I got to sneak quietly throughout the house as to not wake my dad while we were all running around and swimming. I got to spend Sunday afternoon’s with great people. I learned that there ARE good people in this world and there ARE people who love you and care about you and want the best for you and truly are TRUE friends. I’ve ran through the pouring rain at a concert with you all, I have been carried to bed when the demons of depression and circumstance did everything but dig my grave, I drank my first beer with most of you and got that out of my system with YOU. I’ve shared a pillow, a bed, a sleepless night, a home with all of you. I watched all of you walk the line at graduation and walked along side you at mine. I’ve attended some of your weddings, some of yours I did not.
Sometimes I miss the Church of God so much it hurts. But I don’t know if I miss the church or I miss my people there. You all.
I wanted to post a picture but there are too many. And there are not enough. Though, I don’t need any pictures. You all know who you are and who we are and you remember, too. I know that you do. I wonder if you ever think of them as fondly as I. I carry a very special place in my heart for The Group.
Thank you…. thank you so much, for making sure that my days were full. That my heart was full despite circumstances. Thank you for being there and for loving me with your whole hearts. I can only pray that my daughter will have at least ONE friend as good as my whole GROUP was. Thank you for being a better friend to me that I was to any of you. I didn’t deserve you all but I thank the sweet Lord above that He privileged me with people like you in my early life. He knew I wouldn’t have made it otherwise.
Thank you for the memories. Even though you aren’t THE best days of my life, you are some of my best days. And without each of you, I wouldn’t be able to have THE best days of my life that I have now. Thank you for all that wasted time…
I miss you and I miss our times together, and sometimes I am sad that this is the way that life has to be. I know that it is though and I have accepted that.Whatever happened to our group, a part of me will always hold you in my heart and wish that I could somehow share my new memories with you. Our paths may never all come together again and I know for a fact that we will never have a closeness like we all once did but I just wanted you all to know that I appreciate who you were for me and the impact that you made on my life. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you. I wouldn’t be the wife or mother I am, without you.
Thank you.
You, me, & Harper Capri 