Friends

Last night, a milestone birthday of a friend brought together a group of us who have known each other for years but whose roads have diverged and the paths now very seldom cross. What a wonderful time it was. Lots of laughter, lots of reflection and reminiscing, lots of thankfulness for our connection. . .

As the laughter rang around the table, we talked about good times and some of the times we would rather forget. We talked about how confused we are over where the years have gone and a little of the fear of how fast time is passing. We talked about all the elements that have made our lives sweet. The group was as varied and diverse as the foliage in the forest, but the diversity wasn't even considered as we mused about the past and laughed over the present and wondered about the future.

We realized that what had drawn us together in the first place was being so often together at the same events throughout our youth and early adulthood. But somewhere through the years, we had shared this one's worry over a child, or shared this one's sorrow over a death, or shared this one's anxiety over a family trial. And we realized that somehow along the way the commonality of the same events that had first drawn us together had given way to a deeper bond of love that time nor distance nor diverging paths would ever break.

At the head of the table, T F Tenney smiled as someone quoted what he often says: "You can make old 'new friends', but you can't make new 'old friends'."