An Old Friend

Sometimes we meet up with an old friend after years apart and it seems like we haven't missed a beat. We are able to understand immediately what the other is trying to articulate. The conversation flows like we just talked the day before. We experience a level of comfort that is hard to find elsewhere. Just because we may have lost touch, haven't seen each other in a very long time doesn't mean our connection is any less. There is a mutual understanding that we both have missed the other and have never forgotten but other things have gotten in the way. Neither of us judges the other for the time away, instead we just pick up right where we left off. Sure, there have been changes over time but the fundamentals that drew you together in the first place are still deeply routed.

This past week I reacquainted myself with an old flame. It had been 17 years since I had strapped a pair of boards to my feet and pointed them down a hill. The boards have morphed a bit, my body has aged but like old dance partners our timing was in tune. I admit I was slightly nervous, wondering if we would jive like we had years ago. As soon as I clicked my boots into my bindings all nerves disappeared and I was right back to where I had left off. I had decided ahead of time to take it easy and slowly regain familiarity but I quickly discovered that was unnecessary as hours of muscle memory came flying back into my body. I was making turns and gaining speed and grinning from ear to ear. Yes, it had been a long time but old friends click right back into place.

"AH, how good it feels. The hand of an old friend."