Over the weekend I went to the five-year reunion for the people who clerked on the Supreme Court with me. A few people I see often (out of a group of thirty-eight, one lives two blocks from me, and another lives ten blocks from me), though others—even ones I consider good friends—I haven’t seen in the past five years.
I used to worry when a friendship changed, with less frequent connection. Finally I got realistic: it’s not possible to try to maintain weekly, monthly, or even yearly connections with everyone. But it’s still nice to see such friends once in a while—and it doesn’t really matter that so much time has gone by.
Of course, the passage of too much time, or lives that have diverged too much, can snuff out a friendship. That’s why I love reunions–the easy way to see lots of people all at once.
Just writing this post gives me an idea: a bunch of my college friends used to get together each year for an “Ides of March” weekend. The tradition petered out when everyone had kids. But why not plan a reunion of the “Ides of March”?
I’m sending out the email today.
