I just spent a week in Seattle. Granted, the point of the trip was so that Kes could meet my brother and his family but it does seem odd to me that I didn’t really see much of Seattle — I saw people instead.
This was the trip of renewing old friendships. I got to spend time with friends that I hadn’t spoken to in years for one reason or another (nothing malicious on my part) and it was wonderful. I’ve had a pet theory for some time that the very core of a person stays the same. Even though our outer part changes (e.g., we mature, learn new skills, etc.), I think the most central part of each of us is constant — the “April-ness” that makes me me will always be there. Perhaps this is why when I see old friends, especially ones who are kindred spirits (a la “Anne of Green Gables”), in many ways, it seems that no time has passed since we last saw each other, or at least we quickly resume the easy pace of our friendship.
Randy and I have lived many, many places and have been blessed with many wonderful friendships. Still it is the friendships of my youth that I’ve been longing for recently, friends who remember a version of me that I don’t fully recall. I want to say, “Sure, I was okay then, but I’m really better now — less hard edges, less drama, more heartfelt effort. Get to know me now.” In order to reminisce, people need to have a library of shared experiences. There’s nothing like the short-hand of old friends, the private jokes, the shared catch-phrases. As a busy working adult, a wife and a mother, it’s a very long process to build new friendships mostly because I can see my friends so rarely.
Perhaps this was just the right time to renew these relationships. Hopefully, my old friends will reciprocate my interest. At the very least though, it was so nice to see that they all turned out to be the wonderful people I thought they could be.