Reconnecting

In high school I had three best friends who meant everything to me. I was one of those teenagers who never wanted to be with my family, but spent every moment possible with this adopted family of mine. And because they were good people, it worked out well. I think we had a mostly positive influence on each other, and we made it through those awkward years largely by supporting each other.

Predictably, things changed after high school. Two of them went to school in southern Utah, I went to BYU in Provo, and one stayed in Salt Lake. Three of us served missions, and then came the rest of the details of life, with two of my friends settling outside the state (and then eventually me too). After I met Katie she struggled with me wanting to spend time with other friends anyway, and as kids came along I never really had time for a social life.

This summer is our 20th anniversary of high school graduation, and there is a Facebook page dedicated to the event. People were posting photos of themselves at graduation vs. now, and one of these friends posted his. We started talking, and he set up a Facebook group where the four of us have been reconnecting.

It's funny that Facebook has actually brought people together in an especially vitriolic time, but something about a blind squirrel finding a nut? So it's been great to hear what everyone has been up to for the last two decade. I had more or less resigned myself to having few close friends in my adulthood. I know plenty of people in the neighborhoods and wards we've lived in, especially the parents of my kids' friends, but I hadn't realized how much I missed having a real connection with others (aside from Katie, which is a deeper bond, but because you're generally in the middle of things together it's different from talking with people outside your own bubble of day-to-day happenings).

So, since some of them apparently read this blog on occasion but never reveal their presence (lurkers!) I'll just say that friends are good. I recommend them to anyone who has been considering acquiring one.