Trares
After more than 20 years, it was like nothing had changed.
Fifteen 40-ish-year-old guys stood out in the sun, catching up, teasing each other and laughing until it hurt. We all had a little less hair and a few more pounds on us. But the friendship remained strong.
I have maintained friendships with a fairly stable group of guys from high school, people who I played baseball with, who were on the school newspaper with me and who were in the same classes as me. Many of us all went to the same college together after graduation. Along the way, we added more friends to our core group.
The result has been friendships that have survived despite life changes, distance and time.
For years, we’ve all picked a time to gather for a “guy’s weekend.” Usually, we would find a house to rent within driving distance for everyone living in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Some would fly in from Atlanta or Dallas to take part.
Those weekends followed a time-tested script. There is lots of savory, unhealthy food, from pounds of pulled pork and brisket to thick slabs of steak. We sit around and play video games, creating an elaborate tournament while lobbing insults and quips like we were still in the dorms. A beer or two may get consumed.
The tradition had gone on uninterrupted for a decade. But like so much, the pandemic prevented the group from getting together. Over that time, we lost a close friend, someone I had known since high school and who had been a regular at our annual weekends.
So when the emails started flying earlier this year about bringing the weekend back, there was a flurry of excitement. Almost all of us are married, and most of us have children ranging in age from teenagers to just a few months old. The opportunity to act a bit juvenile is fleeting, and nearly everyone in our group committed right away.
And despite the eye-rolling teasing from my wife, and the pleas from Anthony to come along, I set off last weekend for the first weekend with my friends in more than two years.
The barbs were just as jagged as they’d always been. No one missed an opportunity to bring up embarrassing stories from school, each one causing the room to erupt in laughter. We raised a glass to our friend who could no longer join us.
And while I hated to be away from my family, it gave Anthony and my wife some one-on-one bonding time. They took advantage of the spring-like weather to go to the Indianapolis Zoo, had a mother-son dinner date and watched movies on the couch. They got to make their own memories together.
By the time Sunday morning rolled around, I was tired and ready for home. The drive was a slog, and arriving back in Indiana was a relief. Anthony regaled me with everything he had done while I was away, and begged me to show him the video games we had played.
I was exhausted and ecstatic to be home. But I’m already counting down until our friends’ next weekend together.
Just give me a year to recover.
