Friendus, interruptus

Current mood: contented glow

The adult friend-finding process (the non-Craig's List kind) is becoming more difficult as I get older. Finding people I like for extended periods of time that I'm willing to make time for? Perhaps I've gotten more discriminating (crabbier) with age, but it's a daunting prospect for a busy homebody. Making new friends requires a challenging time and energy commitment without the slightest BFF guarantee.

This state of affairs should mean that I treasure the friends I already have. I do; believe me, I do, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm not the most conscientious of correspondents. Even with the advent of email and free night-time minutes, I have trouble keeping up with the lives of my favorite people. Christmas cards and newsletters? Far from being despised, they are something that I actually aspire to.

Thus, it is heartening to be able to fall back into the rhythms of an old, easy friendship after a long hiatus. It's wonderful to be around people you really like, who like you, and who are just...simple to be around. Acquaintances might be surprised to find that I am extraordinarily gifted by the gab once I am comfortable.

Recently, I was very happily reminded that I can still do the friendship tango. A friend came to town and the years of intermittent contact quickly fell away. We talked voraciously, ate, laughed, commiserated...the topics changed (who knew mortgage talk would ever be interesting?), but everything else was the same. The same day, I got a worried call from a friend who was checking to make sure I hadn't been eaten by wild dogs. Apparently, I will not have the opportunity to collapse ignominiously on my bathroom floor for long before someone sends out the Mounties. Those friends from my impetuous youth? Turns out, I chose wisely.

Well done, younger self.

(It's reassuring to get confirmation that I once had good taste. It affirms that the choices I make today might actually be based on reasonably accurate projections for the future.)