Old Friends

"Make new friends
but keep the old.
One is Silver
and the other's gold."

I learned that little song when I was a Brownie Scout. My Girl Scout leader taught us to sing it in a round, and all these years later it pops into my head on a regular basis.

Today, I had a chance to go to the home of an old friend.

The family had moved out into the country, and we hadn't seen the new place. And their kids are all getting older and taller (and their voices are changing, which is normal and weird at the same time). We used to see each other all the time, and spend hours together. We had a tradition of combined family spaghetti dinner.

Lots of shared experiences and memories.

But, we moved a few years back, and the distance was just enough to keep us from getting together. I have missed them desperately.

So imagine my joy when we went to visit, and simply picked up where we left off. No awkward gaps in conversation, no strained efforts at inside jokes, no holds barred on topics for discussion. Walking in to their new home and sitting down on the same old couch and diving back in to our friendship like we had never come up for air felt like...

Well, it felt like everything was exactly as it should be.

I am grateful for old friends. There is an intangible and priceless value in that mutual history that can't be faked or replaced. I am grateful to be able to trust and tease and talk like we always have without having to back up and fill in the gaps. I am grateful that life has been good for both of us while we've been apart. I am grateful for the opportunity to check in as often as possible. Mostly, I am grateful for old friends.

What have you been blessed with today?