Friday, July 07, 2006

'Guys Night Out'- Part Two

As was the case with the initial installment of 'Guys Night Out', part II revolves around the rare time old friends share with one another. This week will mark the first time another close circle of my friends, from college no less, will convene since my wedding the preceding August. Well, that's not entirely true as three of the four musketeers gathered for an exceptional event this past February when the greatest NFL team of all time won another Super Bowl to add a fifth ring on their hand.
That extraordinary day aside though, the four amigos, Llama, Mike D, and Xman, and yours' truly, knowing one another a minimum of 25 years, haven't gathered to break bread or share a cold beverage since my last day of bachelorhood. A sad statement indeed.
When you stop and think about that declaration it is remarkable. It is noteworthy, for we invested ample time together from gradeschool through college and then upon graduation life as we knew it seemed to halt and that quality time was pulled in many other directions. It was at though the above-forementioned directions forced our time together to wain and concessions were made with that quality time.
Why then do we tend to distance ourselves from those who mean a great deal to us? Is it simply adulthood taking hold and forcing our hand acquiescing to our habitual routine? Or is it the fact that we grow up, older, and wiser and understand that those persons will in fact understand that we have moved forward with our own individual lives. That advancement doesn't mean we progress without our friends but simply beyond the times we gather. When age and maturity finally catch up, we are reminded our immortality has long since deserted us and we are merely older and hopefully wiser beings who need to reach out and share that time once again with those who supported us in our formative years.
Indeed, our buddies and close friends whom we have not forsaken but simply lost touch with over the years should always welcome us back with open arms.
But, it is our duty then to rekindle the moments shared with our friends to show them that we haven't lost that kinship but meerly set it aside to persue different goals.
This week our time together though brief and long overdue will serve notice that our future meetings will occur on a more regular basis.
So, I challenge you who read this to kindle those friendships again and reach out to those you haven't spoken to in quite a while. Why? Because it is "our" duty frankly to keep those friendships burning as we all grow older. For very soon we will be old and gray and reminiscing about old times and wishing we had invested more time and created more memories along the way.
Until next time...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I quite excited about an evening with you fellow losers. Our lives have, indeed, gone off in different directions (not too different, though), and whether they are exciting or not, they are OUR lives. Let's talk about them and bring up a few stories from the past. Looking forward to it.

MikeD