Dinner with friends

I hosted a dinner last night for 6 of my oldest friends here in town. We got together for about 2 hours of talking, getting caught up on lives, etc. I was struck by how diverse we are: two are lesbians, two are single, one is married with children, one is married without. We grew up in different environments (farm, small town, and city) and we have very different lifestyles now.

We're all similar in age (within 10 years of each other) and all work in high tech and we all have outside interests that keep us busy.

I used to get together with them once a week. Then it changed to every other week. Now we're lucky if we can get together once a month. I've known these folks for almost 20 years and we still remain friends. We are drifting apart, though -- my writing career occupies a lot of my energy and I can't devote my time to socializing as much as I used to. Others are busy, too, so it's not just me.

It's a bittersweet feeling to see your life change like this. Bitter because I'd like to remain as close to them as I always have been. But sweet because we are still close -- we do still get together and I know, if needed, I could call on them for anything.

I suppose it's all a part of life, and change ...