Over the years I have not done the best job staying in touch with my friends, especially my buddies from high school and college. As the years go by, and your responsibilities grow, it is easy to lose contact with your friends. For some reason, men are not good at maintaining male friendships. Like most men, I fell into this trap and did not keep strong ties with many of my friends over the years. It is important to connect with my friends.
It is fun to catch up with old friends
I was reminded of this fact several times the past few years. Several years ago I attended my 25th college reunion at UVA. It was a fun time. I saw many college friends that I have not talked to in years. It was great to catch up with old friends. We all changed and many of us dealt with similar challenges in our life. I have also been to several UVA games.
Sometimes I connect with high school friends
Another example – several years ago I was able to spend an evening with a few of my good friends from high school. They are all great guys, but I did not really talk much with them at all the past twenty plus years. We were making up for the lost time. Something similar happened when I attended my 30th high school reunion. Once again it was great to connect with everyone. I wish we did these types of events more often.
I connect with my friends in Charlottesville
This past summer I was down in Charlottesville and spent some time with one of my best college buddies – Joe. We both are busy, and it is a challenge for us to get together on a regular basis. Even though we only had a few hours together – it was awesome. We talked about getting more of us together later this year. Reuniting with old friends is always fun even if we have to do it virtually these days.
Women are better than men by far
Studies show that women do a much better job of being friends for life. How do they do it – by spending time together. Facebook helps – I have reconnected with many old friends, but nothing replaces face to face communications. I challenge you to keep in touch with your buddies – it will pay big dividends over the years. Don’t make the mistake I made and lose touch with your friends.
The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich man has many friends.
Proverbs 14:20
I am Doug Keating and this is my letter to sons.