We made a reunion happen this past weekend, one of epic proportions because we were meeting each other’s daughters for the first time. All three (!) of our daughters were shy at first acquaintance but time quickly softened them. Kids pick up cues from their parents and I think our girls knew in their hearts that we’re family.
The forecast was rain the entire time but that didn’t stop us. It kept us cozy indoors baking cookies, occasionally burying our noses in books or fixing our eyes on the screen playing Disney. M came bearing gifts. Among them were bubbles for the kids so they got suited up in rain gear and jumped around in equal parts puddles and bubbles. We welcomed a frog visitor, examining its underside as it hung onto our window. We snapped photos of the girls matching pajamas, and much time was spent around our dear dining table.
When I think of what I miss about being in proximity to friends, it’s often the little things - a good cup of coffee together, late-night chats preferably over wine and cheese, sharing space to work/dream/dance/sing/snack/cry/celebrate.
“i miss the days my friends
knew every mundane detail about my life
and i knew every ordinary detail about theirs
adulthood has starved me of that consistency
that us
the walks around the block
the long conversations when we were
too lost in the moment to care what time it was
when we won and celebrated
when we failed and celebrated harder
when we were just kids
...
i miss knowing i once belonged
to a group of people bigger than myself
that belonging made life easier to live
”
This friendship, it’s more like we’re kindred souls. It’s one where we discover we’ve been navigating the same season, wrestling the same giants, just from our respective locations. We’re often on the same wavelength, learning we’ve been reading the same exact book, grappling with its contents.
There’s an ease, a comfort in being raw, completely vulnerable - sharing the very things that have been weighing on my shoulders and my heart because I’ve been carrying them alone. There’s a warmth in being able to lay down that burden and know I’m fully loved, fully known.
Now I’m left with these polaroids to look at and am desperately searching for flights to make another reunion happen asap.