Old friends

I remember a poem from elementary:
Make new friends but keep the old
Those are silver, these are gold.

I know, it's hokey but it's what I remember. Anyway, this past week has been about reconnecting with old friends. Some of them I haven't seen at all the last 14 years. Good thing there's e-mail because that's how I've managed to keep in touch somehow.

Most of my friends are married with kids. They talked about which schools their kids are attending, having parent-teacher meetings, dealing with issues (like one daughter eating paper as initiation into the cool group of kids in the class - and this is in grade 3!). The kids' ages range from 6 months in the womb to 14 years old. I think the average number of kids is two.

Everyone has done well professionally. Most are in management positions or own their own business. It's nice to see!

It's kind of weird, though. To me, they are still the same people. They look the same, they sound the same, still laughing at the same stories. But now they have kids! Weird.

And I wish I had a tape recorder to capture the conversations! I'm surprised at how much I don't remember. Remember when... Half the time, I wouldn't. But there has also been lots of "that's right! I remember" moments. It's great to recount the stories, like I'm hearing them for the first time. I swear, my first few days here, all I did was laugh. It was great!

I also realize I missed out on a lot of things - their weddings, births of their children, supporting my friends as they dealt with illnesses. Just life experiences in general. That's the downside of leaving.

I loved seeing my friends again. It's like not a day has passed since we last saw each other. Conversation just flowed so easily, laughter constantly spilling out of us. So comforting and wonderful. I wish I could spend more time with them. Definitely won't let another 14 years go by before coming back.