A few nights ago while I was surfing the internet a familiar grey text box popped onto my screen “L. would like to add you to her msn contacts”. I was very surprised to see and old friend of mine from elementary school’s name and email appear, having lost touch with her more than a few years ago. Last I heard she was living in Thailand and teaching English.
Seconds later we started chatting on MSN. We caught up on the mundane (how are you, how’s your family, etc.), we reminisced on the good old days (remember when we…), we gossiped (guess what so-and-so is up to nowadays). We marvelled how things change (her in Thailand, me in Amsterdam) , and how some things never change (a certain pal still hankering after that same guy from high school).
Over the past two years living abroad, we had both missed out on friend’s weddings, both lost touch with some friends, and both missed close friend’s funerals. We both agreed to that feeling of not quite fitting in to your old life “at home” anymore, yet sometimes still missing it dearly-- but not enough to want it truly back.
We promised to stay in touch, to catch up again soon, and to hopefully see each other on a parallel “trip home”.
We may stay in contact regularly, but I remember how in grade 5 we both chanted a newly-learned song at a mutal friend (for abandoning us a recess) –-“make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold”. How true, even after 14 years!
