Until, that is, I spot a familiar face on the street carrying a baby and realize that the little girl with wild hair and who always walked on her tip-toes, the one I used to ride bikes with and lived a few streets away from, is now a mother, has a husband, a house, and a career. She’s all grown up, or at least, she’s come a long way since we were ten.

It’s incredible stuff. I suppose it’s easy to get lost in the everyday momentum of life; enjoying each moment means that there isn’t always time to realize what’s changing. For me it’s about living in the present. I don’t want regrets or excessive reminiscing holding me back from moving forward. The past is there inside me, but I try not to dwell on it too much.

So when someone asks, "What’s new?” I have trouble finding an answer. It’s all new, but being in the thick of things can make that hard to remember.

Old friends are a good reminder. It’s a taste of the past with a surprise of how things have changed. I’m amazed at what people achieve and how much they’ve grown. And when they ask me, "how are you doing?" I actually stop and realize that yeah, a lot has happened since we’ve last met.

Anyhow, that’s what’s on my mind. Old friends and the way life moves on. Things always change, and I have no regrets over that. But it’s nice to look back occasionally, catch up on a street corner while the light turns green to red, stay for a drink after saying hello at a bar, or whatever it is that brings people together. It’s good to realize how far we’ve all come.

In The Fray Contributor