Old Friends

Do you ever find yourself dreaming about or thinking about old friends you haven't seen in a very long time? Have you ever found that you were going along swimmingly in your life and that suddenly you did something or thought something that just opened up a floodgate of memories of people? People maybe who you couldn't bring with you to this point in your life because of physical distance, bad timing, needs that diverged or life that just got in the way. People who maybe you cut yourself off from because you needed to feel free of them or something that they made you feel in order to go down the path you chose at the time.

Maybe you felt too good for them. Maybe you felt they were holding you back. Maybe you felt not good enough for them and you felt you were the one holding the other down. Or maybe they made you feel guilty or self-concious, because you just had stuff you needed to deal with.

But then years down the road you turn some corner and come face to face with their memories--all at once, even though maybe you'd never seen them together before in the same room (or the same country or decade) for that matter. But then there they are. And for some reason, you want them back. You feel your life is not complete without them. You miss them. You miss yourself. You are afraid, maybe a little--or a lot, because maybe these people, these friends still don't really fit. But you don't care. You need to bring them back. You need to shine light on them--on yourself. But how do you do it without wrecking what little peace you have?

Have you ever felt this way?