BFF

I just completed a visit to Asheville, North Carolina (actually in a small town outside) visiting my best friend from high school and his wife, whom I have known since she was in high school. It’s a little freaky to think you’ve known someone for 37 years and I’ve probably only seen them a half dozen times in the last 10 years. It is, however, very comforting to spend the time together and realize that you are still on the same wavelength and still simpatico after such a long time (I haven’t seen them since my 50th birthday, 2 ½ years ago). This is the first time I’ve come down here to see them, as opposed to their coming to see me, and the first time it’s been just us, as opposed to being part of a group.

Friendship can be a funny thing as an adult. You make friends easily as a kid, but it gets harder as you get older and your lives become more separate from those of your peers. You really have to make an effort, and I don’t feel like I really make that effort often enough. I’m not anti-social, but I’m not very social either, and I don’t spend nearly as much time with friends as I’d like to.