Old Friends

When I say old friends, I mean people I have been friends with for a long time, not people who are old. Then again, none of us are getting any younger....

I went to lunch today with one of my oldest friends. I also haven't seen him in a several years. As it turns out, he is one of those friends that you can not see for years at a time and still have great, deep, thought-provoking conversations with. Love those kinds of friends. We had a great time. We talked about jobs, family, religion, and life. He is soon moving to Texas and making the rounds of his friends to say Hello and Goodbye before he leaves the state for good.

Mario and I met when we were 12. Yup, 6th grade people. I had a crush on him so I did what any 12 year-old girl would do- I started talking to his friend. We ended up all becoming friends and I have fond memories of hanging out at the The Pit. The Pit was basically a big dirt field where kids rode their bikes. It was thusly called because there was a large crater in the middle of the field. The Pit is now a condo complex.

We walked to school back in those days. On the way to school was Mike's single story rambler. One morning when my neighbor and I approached, Mario, Mike and Jesse were jumping off the roof and invited us to join them. So we did. We climbed up from the back of the house, walked over the pitch of the roof and jumped off, landing in the front yard. We did this until we had to leave to make the school bell.

Mario's mom didn't like me much. Funny thing, she didn't like a girl calling her 12-year old son, yet I did. As many mothers do, she viewed her son as perfectly sweet and innocent and thought I was a bad influence on him. I know this because she told me on the phone once "You are a bad influence on my son." I was always a little scared of her from then on.

Mario's family moved across town during Jr. High and we ended up at difference schools from them on. Yet, we remained in contact with each other. We each had our own circle of friends, but still maintained a close friendship. We both grew up, I went to college and he went on a mission. I wrote him and told him when I met, then married JM. He once wrote me a letter, while on his mission, telling me I put the "ass in class". JM and I still laugh about and quote it today.

We kind of lost touch after that. His phone number has always been in my contact list, but rarely used. We last got together when I was pregnant with BG, 5 years ago. But today, we reconnected. It was so much fun. It reminded me why we became friends in the first place. He is sweet and funny, thoughtful and deliberate. We have each walked our own paths, but still have much in common. It was great to see him again and share some of each other's lives.

PS- He is single. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll hook you up!