A Gentle Reminder...

Recently, I had lunch with friends from grade school. One of them is still my best friend to this day, but I hadn’t seen the other two in years - outside of wakes and funerals.

Thirty-two years later, we finally made it back to the lunch table.

Same girls. Different lunch table. Somehow, even better conversations.

We decided we were done only seeing each other during the hardest moments of life, so we carved out time for laughs, grade school lore, and the kind of joy that only comes from people who have known you since you were a kid. Proof that real friendships don’t fade - they just wait patiently for the next lunch date.

It was good.
I came home refreshed.

I hadn’t realized how much I needed a day like that.

No judgment.
No worrying about what anyone thought.
No wondering if they were replaying all the times I’ve messed up in my life.

It was two hours of catching up - talking about our lives, old school memories, people we had crushes on, and our athletic capabilities (or lack thereof).

It was joy.

Honestly, it was one of the best times I’ve had in the last year. I didn’t leave replaying conversations or wondering why did I say that? It was just innocent, easy, good fun.

It was a beautiful reminder that friendships can span decades, even when there’s breathing room between get-togethers. That everyone takes a different path. And that the things we worry people will judge us for are often the very things our friends admire us for.

It reminded me that everyone is carrying something - and still, they can make space to show up and make each other’s days a little brighter.

Maybe it’s a reminder to reach out. To schedule the lunch. To not wait for a reason.