illustration by Maria Fabrizio

I can’t believe how much time had passed since I saw her last, my sweet friend Catherine, a co-worker from years ago who now lives in another part of the state. She was on her way into town for the day, and on the long drive, she did what I always mean to (but so rarely do). She picked up the phone and called me. Then she actually stopped by for a visit.

How remarkable it was to see her again, to hear about her life this decade later. How easy it was to reconnect.

How much of her life I’ve missed.

Catherine’s visit made me think about the many people who have passed through my world, people I genuinely love, friends who were a significant part of my every day during one phase of life or another. And then circumstances changed. We graduated. He changed jobs. She married and moved away.

Months became years became decades.

It is the way of life, I know, this coming and going, this flux that keeps us permeable. It is how our days stay fresh, our existence malleable. We are as clay, I think, reshaped just a bit with every new friendship, every love. And then comes the moving on, an equal trade I suppose, a balancer.

I shall try to remember to look at it this way the next time I miss a friend who is too far away. I shall try to remember this osmotic process, the coming and the leaving, life.

Thank you to my friend Maria Fabrizio of Studio Ria for the fabulous illustration. Check out her Wordless News, officially on my list of Very Favorite Things.