Looking Back As You Go Forward

When you find yourself on the verge of a new direction, life has a way of reminding you of the journey it took to get there. Lately, I’ve enjoyed a few unexpected strolls down memory lane.

Junior’s Restaurant: Lunch at this Times Square eatery with an old friend kicked off my week of reminiscing (photo courtesy: chowtimes.com)

It began last week, during a delightful lunch with my former Fox News colleague Frankie. Though Frankie and I hadn’t seen each other since I left Fox nine years ago, we picked up right where we left off, reminiscing about the hilarious stunts we pulled in the name of TV production (including one involving "Star Wars" costumes). He asked me if I wanted to come back, and I was grateful to be reminded that some doors never truly close.

A few days later, I was at a deli on my lunch break when I ran into former “Days of Our Lives” actor Matthew Ashford. Having grown up watching Days, I was genuinely excited to see Matthew again (our last encounter was during the ’04 Daytime Emmys) and to hear about his new gig – playing one of the dads in a national tour of “Mamma Mia.”

As we talked about the shifting TV landscape and uncertain future of daytime dramas, I thought about how soaps were to my teenage years what “Sex And The City” has been to my thirties. It’s surprising and sad to think of the genre eventually being no more.

Speaking of surprises, the third one of the week happened at home when I was going through boxes of childhood mementos. Turns out one of the boxes was mislabeled, so I was floored to open it and find a collection of dolls that I assumed were lost in a move years ago. What a welcome flashback.

Yes, there’s definitely something to be said for the occasional backward glance. In the course of just a few days, I reconnected with three very different periods of my past – all of which have contributed to the woman I am today. As I take stock of where I’ve been, I feel even readier to embrace what comes next.