Moving On

Time marches on. There is nothing more inevitable. Some of it is good, such as growing up, becoming successful (hopefully), having a family. Some of it is not so good, like achy knees, reading glasses, hearing aids. I recall a question that was posed after dinner during our family gathering last Christmas: "How are your new teeth working out?"

But part of what is not so good is losing friendships. My 20-year high school reunion is next weekend. I may have gone had Elisa been in town to go with me, but since she will be in California, I sent my regrets to my former classmates. Truth be told, I only keep up with one person out of my class of 128, and only sporadically at that. (I am most certainly not my Grandpa's grandson in this regard!) I am not sad I will miss it, but what I AM sad about is that I'm not sad. Several of those people I knew since I was in first grade, and I have many fun memories, but I will not lose any sleep over not catching up with them for a few hours.

I have other friends who I keep in touch with from time to time, but my views and/or circumstances have changed over time and therefore some of our commonalities no longer exist. Different circumstances: I'm married, I'm a dad, I'm a boss, I have a mortgage. Different views on things like politics and spirituality. It is regretable that some people no longer consider it worth their time and effort to keep up due to one or more of these changes (in me or in themselves). I do what I can in most cases to maintain relationships (more than one person has commented on my loyalty to my friends), but when the effort is not reciprocated, I eventually get the hint. I cannot blame anyone for evolving friendships - it is only natural to surround yourself with what and who you currently know and are comfortable with. I just wish it was easier to maintain friendships in spite of change.