289. Old Friends


Friendship in adulthood is difficult and not to be taken for granted. I hear tales of married couples with kids who now are limited to hanging out with the parents of kids they befriend. These situations fill me with anxiety, like hoping to get a real connection in a work networking event. The odds for authenticity are low and the opportunity for awkwardness high.

For me, as an introvert, I’ve always relied on fun extroverts I feel comfortable around to take a liking to me and adopt me. I’ve been rich with friends throughout my life under this paradigm. But it gets more and more difficult as you age and stack up complications.

It seems that after a certain period in life you are more likely to lose friends than to gain them. I’ve lost friends to so many causes, including: my depression episodes, their depression episodes, Trumpism, Chavismo, and the biggest killer, geography. I’ve lost friends because it’s been so long it’s kind of awkward now, and some to the fact I don’t enjoy partying like I used to and they miraculously, can and should. Some friends drifted apart simply because I stopped checking in on them and them on me… sometimes I wonder if I did something wrong or if they think they did something wrong. I anticipate encountering some of them once more, as life is a long one, regardless of what some may think.

So when you make a friend after your body starts aching and you start making weird noises when you sit, and that friendship lasts longer than your typical shelf-life, it’s a cause for celebration. So, Roger, happy birthday and thanks for being an interesting fellow in Kalamazoo. And yes, all your gifts have been very useful and dialed in.

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