Friends

Life is interesting as it goes by. Many times it takes you down roads far from where you are use to being. Sometimes it takes you to places you never thought you would visit. But most of the time it just takes you really fast to somewhere out there. I find that if you are not consistently at the wheel steering and giving your full attention to where you want to go, you find yourself wandering out there. Life can get pretty busy for me and many times I will throw the survival button on. I will just coast and keep my head above the water. This has gotten me through some tough times in my life, however, it has it's pitfalls as well. You see, when you are just keeping your head above the water, you are not high enough to enjoy the journey. I have missed many sites along the way. I also don't take time to connect with my friends. This is bad for the friendship area. I have had many friends out there that I have lost touch with because of this silly survival tactic. I am sure that I also have missed meeting many new friends along the journey because I couldn't lift my head high enough to see.
With age, comes some pretty intense self examination. I have decided that the journey this far would have been nicer if I had somehow kept my friends with me.
Recently, I have reconnected with a friend from high school. We were not always with each other but we spoke often and I think somehow found comfort in each other. Our friendship, though girl/guy, was not complicated. I think that our values were very similar and we sat beside each other in class. It was like a safe relationship, if you will. I don't think that we were looking for anything else, other than a friend in each other. This seemed to bring a breath of fresh air to me. I wasn't worried about impressing or putting on a show. He really saw me, at my best and worst(poor him) and that was ok. Now that is a friend. It seemed a little awkward at first because now I am married and somehow I feel funny with a guy friend. But, I am grateful for a chance to share this comfortable friendship again. Thanks, for being the same old friend even after twenty years. I wonder if I might be able to rekindle a few more after this Saturday's reunion. Friends can sure make the path nicer. I need to remember to make time for my friendships to grow.