this is my first post in eight days. i suck. that’s a really long time to go without having a thought worth posting on al gore’s internet for the world to see. for the two of you that read this regularly, i apologize.

over the last two weeks i’ve been able to do something really cool. i’ve actually been able to do something really cool at two different times with two equally cool people. i was able to hang out with two people that i haven’t hung out with in a long time.

and that’s really cool.

a lot of times we lose contact with people and don’t even realize it. life just starts happening and you and that person start going in different directions. it’s not your fault. it’s not their fault. it’s just the way life works out. yeah, you talk occasionally – a comment on a facebook status here and there, a text message occasionally, even the wall post saying how you should hang out.

but for whatever reason, that hanging out never happens.

and before you know it, not only have weeks passed, but so have months and in a lot of cases, even years have gone by since you last saw that person. more often than not, life even takes you to different towns or different states and catching up and hanging out becomes nearly impossible.

and that’s what makes me so grateful for the two nights i was able to spend with these two people.

luckily, one of them still lives in lynchburg so it was relatively easy for us to get together. the other one had moved back to north carolina but once again, i was lucky that where she moved to was close enough for me to drive to. there are other friends that i would love to hang out with for a few hours but i simply can’t because they live in other towns or states too far away.

relationships and friendships are something that are so incredibly special. they’re what makes life worth living most of the time. yeah, sometimes they hurt and sometimes they’re hard, but it’s the people in life that we remember more than the things we do with those people.

but relationships are the one thing that we overlook and neglect more than anything else.

so what’s the point of this post? more than anything, i want it to be a reminder to slow down occasionally and go to dinner with that person you haven’t seen in a while. it’s a reminder to not let life and all of the crazy things that comes with it completely get in the way of the relationships that make life worth it. it’s a little encouragement to meet up with that old friend from high school while you’re at home for christmas break. it’s telling you to turn that text message, that facebook comment, or that e-mail into an actual action.

life is hectic sometimes. i know that. but i promise you that the hour you spend eating dinner with that old friend will encourage you and help get you through whatever craziness is going on around you.

because after all, isn’t that what friends are for?

say your prayers and take your vitamins.

have a nice day.

-jonathan