By Diane Olsen
During the many discussions I have with my support workers, I was one day telling the tale of a very good childhood friend of mine, Tracey. The last time I saw Tracey was 28 years ago. I told stories of those fun youth group days from church, i.e. the sleep overs, the trips to Luna Park and the other adventures that Tracey and I shared. We were kindred spirits. For a long time I wondered what ever happened to Tracey. We didn?t go to the same schools or hang around the same circles so it was easy to lose touch. I did however know where she went to High school. Lo and behold my support worker had connections to the high school and said she would put out some ?feelers?to see if she could find Tracey.
The only details I could remember was Tracey’s very common surname and the name of her brother, Clyde, Remarkably my support worker did find someone who knew Clyde. She got a phone number and helped me to ring him. He let Tracey know I was looking for her and within a couple of days of talking to him Tracey and I were on the phone. She had wondered what ever happened to me as I had wondered the same about her.
It was fantastic to talk to “chukka” as my dad fondly called her and catch up with her life now. The last time I saw her she was a young married mum. She is still married and living in Queensland and is a grandmother to 12 children. We shared our Nanna journeys and where our lives are now.
Tracey and I shared photos of how we look now and chatted about plans to catch up in the flesh and have another slumber party. I am looking forward to sharing more phone calls and reminiscing of days past. Thanks to Mark for helping us reconnect.