Hello again dear old friend, it's been too long.
There is something magical about reconnecting.
If it's on a call, through a video, through an email.
There is magic in people that know your whole story.
When we all lost Nonno, I was quickly reminded of my loving old friends.
Friends that have stayed with me through it all.
Friends that show up, gather, surround, and love on us.
Friends that make us laugh, hard.
Friends that are inappropriate with jokes.
Friends that know your story, your whole story.
From my bestest that got in her car and drove to me the night of.
From my longest that called me the second she read my message.
From my college forevers that spent a holiday weekend loving on me.
From the messages of love I received.
From the flowers that filled our home.
From the ones close by that brought dinner, treats, and cookies.
From the ones that showed up with wine ready to hug me.
From the ones that reached out in any way they could to muster words of support.
From the ones that made me feel like they were right there, no matter how far away they were.
Hello again dear old friend, it's been too long.
As we sit around together, it is as if we have never left.
The stories are a little different.
The subjects of our stories are more consistent now since we have included our loved ones in the mix.
But the laughter is the same.
The sheer joy, that's the same.
We all tell each other we think we look exactly the same.
And then we point out how much we have changed.
We realize that to each other, we do look exactly the same.
As if we never left.
Because it's us, the us that never left.
Hello again dear old friend, it's been too long.
We gather around food and lots to drink, just like we always did.
We talk about our old days.
The drinking games, the boys, the crushes, how important it all was.
We talk about how we lived back then.
We talk about the difficult times we have faced too.
The losses, the stories we only want to share with a small group.
We talk about the hard parts of marriage, parenting, homes, the day in and day out of adulthood.
But for this small precious moment, we just are.
The us that never left.
We head to bed earlier these days.
1am seems like it just can't be.
We are still putting littles to bed.
But, most importantly, we are there.
Taking care of each other.
We are the embodiment of love.
Hello again dear old friend, it's been too long.
