At The Y

I will make a friend today.  Somehow, somewhere.

It was unlikely, really. The Y on a warm, clear summer night is relatively deserted.  Only a few of my new friends were there, all of them on their way to classes or huffing on spin bikes or ellipticals.  I resigned myself to walking alone unless my trainer found time to join me.

A woman in red was headed toward me on the track.

"You're going the wrong way!" she blurted. "Thursday is counter-clockwise!"

Well, yes it is. However, today is WEDNESDAY, and I'm walking in the right direction.  I decided not to argue the point. Why bother? It is Wednesday, or I would have put garbage out.  My birthday is on Wednesday.  The newspaper said it is Wednesday.  Why am I even THINKING about this?  I kept walking; she passed me, scowling again.

Suddenly she stopped, approached me and said, "Why the h*** didn't you tell me it's Wednesday?"

I didn't answer, but we did start walking (in the right direction), discussing our foibles, our kids, Buddha and the Y in general.  We exchanged numbers and agreed to walk again.  We have much in common.  I have made another friend.

I expect my trip to Las Vegas to be much the same.  I am going with a friend of several years.  The other team members are unknown to us, yet I am sure we will both come home with budding friendships.  It is a gift, one that I will not waste.

It's like this...I yearn for friends of my past to be friends of my future.  I long for old friendships to grow and to blossom.  I want new friendships to thrive.  I want to begin my next decade being surrounded by people I want to be with.  Everywhere I go, I want to run into someone I can call "friend".

Bev and I may become coffee-klatsch friends, or maybe just Y friends.  We will probably never share secrets, or peanut butter fudge from the bake sale. I doubt we will ever discuss evolution on Facebook, or argue the finer points of politics or religion.  But we can talk and laugh, and we will find a niche in each other's lives.

As I begin a new decade, there are still old friends I want to see again.  New friends can't take their places.  A hug from an old friend is worth a thousand handshakes from a new one.  I can hope that a few years down the road I will be able to say, "meet my old friend..."