Circle of (Former) Friends

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been spending a lot of time with friends lately, both new and old. It’s a pain to keep my schedule organized, my bank account isn’t too happy, and sometimes it’s almost like a second job to stay on top of all of my commitments, but the reward is great! I get to learn more about interesting people, and share the things I enjoy with others.

One thing that surprised me is how much I enjoyed spending time with people I hadn’t seen in years. Oftentimes, hanging out with somebody you were friends with in high school or junior high can be a bit… awkward. Everything’s fine during the general catch-up period – so what do you do, where did you go to college, are you in a relationship? And you can smooth out some silent moments by reminiscing –you’ll never guess who I saw a while back, remember that awful math teacher, whatever happened to that kid you liked?

But it’s what happens when you no longer have those questions that makes or breaks the encounter. Luckily for me, catching up with old friends reminded me of how cool these people were and made me realize how cool they still are. It was as if no time had passed and we were just picking up the conversations we were having a few weeks ago, not several years ago. Sure, there was still the catch-up, but we were able to laugh, learn new things about each other, and assess how much we had and hadn’t changed without it getting weird.

It’s a testament to how good of a time we had that future plans are already in the works. A party here, a yoga class there – I can’t wait to spend more time with them and make them a part of my life again.

Have you ever tried to reconnect with old friends? Did you regret it or were you pleasantly surprised?