Didn't lose a beat...

I had a wonderful time last night. My good friend, Drew, drove up from Fort Bragg to visit with us. John came over and we ate a good meal, played some Mariokart for the first time in 10 years, and just had a good time. There was a bit of reminiscing...but it was more catching up than anything. We were able to, for the first time in a while, find out what the other person has really been up to. It was not awkward or uncomfortable, it was as if we didn't lose a beat. It was powerful and had me thinking a lot this morning. But before I share my thoughts, here is a picture of Drew and John from last night:


So, for some history...This was the first time I had seen Drew in a couple of years. Drew and I go back to the middle school days, although we became closer friends later in high school. We lived together with John all four years of college and have experienced much of life with one another. When I moved from Pittsburgh, the most difficult thing was not having him around consistently. I think I have realized that friendships like Drew's are the most difficult to replace. I have some good new friends in Raleigh and obviously my best friend being my wife...but losing that history with Drew was tough. He reminded me of the time we drove through Delaware in 90 degree weather with the heat blasting to keep my car from overheating. It was just he and I on that trip, so there is no one else that knows the details of that story. Although John lived in the same suite as Drew and I all throughout college, Drew and I shared rooms freshman and sophomore year. So silly stories about fights over the temperatures and whatnot are also unique to him and I. Drew, his date, my date, another couple, and I went to our senior prom together. I worked for Drew's parents for about 3 years in high school and college at Loafer's Bread Company. Through it all..Drew and I spent a lot of time together...here is an old picture I stole off Drew's website with us cooking breakfast for ~50 kids when we were probably 17 or 18 years old.


In the end, I reflected this morning on this being one disappointment in my life. I see other guys, like my friend Andy, take a yearly camping trip with his guy friends still. My brother in law plays Fantasy Football with his friends and they get together yearly for a draft. Others take beach trips or trips to Vegas. We unfortunately did not start any traditions like that and now I yearn for that time when we can get together and not just reminisce but catch up. With Drew in the Army, I imagine it will be difficult to start a tradition like that now. But I hope in about 4 years once he is done with his active duty that we can try to plan some yearly event.

In the meantime, I hope to keep up with Drew when he is stationed at Bragg. Hopefully I can see some more of his family when they head down this way. Last October we saw Drew's little sister Leah (pictures below with Anna who was about 1 yr old) when she and her friend stayed here. Hopefully, I can catch up with the rest of Drew's family when they are this way.