Reconnecting
Many people are understandably struggling with the whole COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic. Uncertainty about finances, bills, mortgages, jobs, the future of the country, protests, quarantine, and a host of other legitimate worries is certainly not a great thing for anyone. I have been trying to find ways to look at positive aspects of this situation. I know that’s much easier said than done, and much easier for me to do than some people because currently my job and finances are stable.
Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to reconnect via FaceTime with some old high school friends. There were five of us in total, with one guy unfortunately having technical difficulties that prevented him from joining us. It is doubtful that we would have organized something like this or all taken the time to participate if it weren’t for the current unusual circumstances in the world. The group of guys I was talking to were my main group of friends going all the way back to elementary school, guys I’ve been able to count on to have my back for the last 30 years. I’ve made plenty of friends since moving away from home in 2007, but this particular group of pals will always have a special place in my heart. I’m repeating myself from my first ever post on here, but these are the guys who could murder someone and I probably still wouldn’t turn them in to the police.
We’re all in our mid-30s now, all grown up, working, raising kids in some cases, and making it in the world. One really crazy thing we talked about is how none of us could remember the last time we were all together at the same time. That blew my mind. Growing up, I spent all day every day with these guys. We would meet on the playground or in the hallway before school, go to class together all morning, eat lunch together, go to class together all afternoon, go to practice, and hang out on nights and weekends. I still remember the last night we were all together before heading off to college in August 2002. We were hanging out downtown, like we had done a million times throughout our high school years, and we all gave each other a hug when it was time to head home. Even at the time, I knew that was a special moment in our lives. Clearly, it was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. All of those high school antics would soon fade away into memories that other people couldn’t quite understand.
During our call last week, we all agreed to make our best effort to get together every year or so. We threw out some hip/sexy destinations like Las Vegas and Nashville, but eventually we all agreed that these reunions would likely and most appropriately happen back in Norway, our small home town that will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
Reconnecting with my old friends really improved my psyche at the end of last week. Perhaps I have been going more stir-crazy than I thought during this whole quarantine thing. For those three and a half hours on the phone, I really felt a lot of fulfillment and connection to other humans, something that has been lacking in many of our lives lately. It was a stout reminder that I need to seek out community more and remember that life is all about the people we meet along the way.