Former co-worker's wedding turns into Journal-Standard reunion

For the more than 25 years that I worked at The Journal-Standard, I made a lot of friends with many co-workers that came and went on to other things. I have remained friends with many of them with the help of Facebook.
Many of my years at J-S were like spending days with friends who became family. The local newspaper fostered a diverse group of personalities, but through it all, so many of us were close. We cared about each other, becoming like family because of the long hours that we used to work.
This past weekend, two of those friends, Joe Tamborello and Tiffany Albright, got married at a beautiful outdoor wedding in Rockford. This is a couple who met while Joe worked at the paper. Tiffany met Joe through mutual friends, and I have been blessed to watch a couple’s love grow to the point of the groom shedding a few tears as his bride walked down the aisle at their wedding. Of course, I cried when I saw Joe cry.
Not only was this a wedding of two friends, but a reunion of those of us who worked together over the past 10 years. None of us still work at the newspaper, but we talked about the gold-old days, shared a few laughs and, above all else, caught up with each other’s lives.
In all, there were 14 of us who shared roots with this local newspaper. It was Joe, Tiffany, Dave, Stefanie, Scott, Nick, Cara, Joey, Adam, Jeremy, Brett, Jeff, Ann and I who posed for the photo to document that we were all there for the camaraderie of a wedding — a photo of what may be the last time we're all together. I soaked it up.
My career with J-S has always been about telling stories for the readers, but personally, I shared much of it with my professional family. We spent a lot of years laughing, crying and venting with each other.
While I have gone on to another job, I still remain a part of the newspaper that I have always loved. The friends I hugged the other night spoke of fond memories of their days at The Journal-Standard, but what we talked about most was friendship. Even though many of us are spread out over this country, we met to witness the love of a couple and recapture treasured friendships.
It was a night I was so excited for and one that I treasure as yet another great memory shared with friends.

And by the way, congrats to Joe and Tiffany Tamborello, who now live in Indianapolis, Indiana.