Make the Call. Pooh Says.

I had two of my girlfriends from college over for lunch today. There’s a unique kind of delight in sitting down with someone who’s known you for 20 years, who has seen you through the arc of your grown-up years, who remembers who you were in all your pre-motherhood glory. It’s fun to see how much has changed, yet also be reminded that, at your core, you are who you’ve always been.

Plus, old friend hugs are the best. 🙂

As we watched our kids run around together outside, we shook our heads and laughed. It was just as we always imagined that scenario—“What if someday we live close enough to one another for our kids to play together?” The future is now. How weird and wonderful.

But the truth is, it’s always too long between visits. We live near one another, but days get busy and too much time passes and we don’t get together because family and life gets in the way. I’m sure most of you have old friends you’ve been meaning to get together with but haven’t for whatever reason. It’s not that you forget one another. It’s just hard to get together.

I know how it goes. I live it, too. But do it anyway. Make the phone call. Send the email or the text. Do it now, while you’re thinking about it. Carve out room in your schedule and have coffee with an old friend. Just putting their name on your calendar will bring a smile to your face, I promise.

And if you don’t have an old friend nearby, get a hold of one anyway. Let them know you’re thinking about them. I have friends who do that occasionally, and it always makes my day. Make the call. Send a message on Facebook. Send a text. Send a letter. Don’t worry about how you do it, about whether it’s too cliche, or too impersonal, or too whatever. Friends should know you’re thinking of them, by whatever means, no matter how much time has gone by.

Soon our family will be moving away from Chicagoland, where we’ve lived most of the past twelve years. And that means we’ll have to say good-bye to friends both old and new. Of course, we’ll see one another again, but it’s a good reminder to get together in person when you can. Make the effort. Make the call. It’s always worth it, and you’ll wish you’d done it more often once the opportunity is gone.