Reunion

I had the opportunity today to reunite with some friends from my past--not co-workers from my early One Life to Live days, but the people who made up my non-work life during those days. While we haven't been completely out of touch, we have not been in the same room for quite some time. There was a lot to catch up on. And the results, for me at least, were amazing.
 
Often, when we try to "go back," we are disappointed, as people and circumstances have changed, and what worked so well way back when just doesn't. In this case (perhaps because it was just two hours, but I don't think so), I was not disappointed at all. There was, of course, showing of kid pictures. There was, of course, laughing over parenting stories. But underlying it all was an understanding of each other that began long before we were all parents, in a time when we were each beginning to find our way. You might think that relationships from that part of life lose their relevance. For me, the opposite was the case. These were people who knew me when it was just me. When life was unencumbered by the changes and developments and ups and downs that just happen. When life was about figuring out and nurturing the "best me," a process that is easy to lose hold of when there are so many balls in the air to juggle.
 
When our time was up, I wished for more hours. I wished for just a few more moments to step back in time and for a little longer to reconnect with these people and the "me" I was when I first knew them.
 
But time marches on. Perhaps we will not wait so long for the next reunion. It can seem like a lucky extra in a life of moving forward to stop and look back. But it is sometimes the looking back that makes the marching forward feel a whole lot better.