Blog: Friends Come and Friends Go
Menu
Friends Come and Friends Go - Tuesday, June 27, 2023
This week, our church bids farewell to Dan and Melody as they leave for their new home in the Boston area. They started coming to our church 3.5 years ago (right before the start of the pandemic), but though their time here has been relatively short, they've touched a lot of lives. Dan has a new role at work that's taking him to Boston, and they've always been East Coast people and viewed their time in the Bay Area as temporary. They'd originally planned to be here for just a year, so they ended up staying a bit longer than planned.
I've enjoyed training with Dan and doing Spartan races together. No one else has been crazy enough to sign up for a race with me, but Dan is even crazier than I am. He'd already done a dozen Spartans, and when I suggested doing the Trifecta last year, I didn't have to ask twice. Priscilla and I had a great time traveling to SLO and Monterey with them for two of the races. Priscilla got to know Melody as I got to know Dan. Their kids are also adorable. Other kids don't pay me any attention, but their kids are always saying hi and want to play. Though, my theory, half jokingly, is that they just have a positive association between me and getting to go to the park and going for a stroller ride when Dan and I are training and running. They were the first (and only, so far) kids that Priscilla and I babysat for.
Dan was also good about asking me and another church friend to go running most weeks during the time that we were training for Spartan. We had some meaningful conversations during that time (as much as we could talk in between breaths while running) as well as during our travels and at church. But more than challenging me in physical fitness, Dan encouraged me to pursue spiritual growth, service, and relationships with others, both by his direct encouragement to me as well as through his own example.
Yesterday, we all had hot pot dinner at Seapot with them as a final farewell. Priscilla and I wanted to pay, but they wouldn't let us. Just another instance of the many times they've been generous to us. We'll miss them a lot, but a future trip to Boston is in the cards for us. I'd be down for doing an obstacle course race there, and Priscilla has been researching flights. Some church guys are also thinking about doing next year's Monterey Spartan, and Dan and the family are considering flying back for that. Our friendship means a lot to me and I really hope that we can maintain it. But maintenance requires more than just hope.
So far, the people with whom I've had the closest relationships have all moved away and contact has become infrequent, if we haven't fallen out of touch completely. High school and college friends. My college roommate of four years. My two officemates from my last company. Friends from my current company. Church friends that we would often eat with on Sunday. People move, drift apart, make new friends. It's part of life and I'm sure it's true in everyone's life. And there's always a reason for not reaching out. I'm busy. They're busy. I'm always the one who initiates; why does it always have to be me? I'll get to it another day - there will be time.
And yet, time is slipping away and one day it will be too late. Everything good requires work. If we don't spend the time to pursue the things that matter, then one day, perhaps at the end of our life, we will look back with regret. I don't want that to be me.
I've enjoyed training with Dan and doing Spartan races together. No one else has been crazy enough to sign up for a race with me, but Dan is even crazier than I am. He'd already done a dozen Spartans, and when I suggested doing the Trifecta last year, I didn't have to ask twice. Priscilla and I had a great time traveling to SLO and Monterey with them for two of the races. Priscilla got to know Melody as I got to know Dan. Their kids are also adorable. Other kids don't pay me any attention, but their kids are always saying hi and want to play. Though, my theory, half jokingly, is that they just have a positive association between me and getting to go to the park and going for a stroller ride when Dan and I are training and running. They were the first (and only, so far) kids that Priscilla and I babysat for.
Dan was also good about asking me and another church friend to go running most weeks during the time that we were training for Spartan. We had some meaningful conversations during that time (as much as we could talk in between breaths while running) as well as during our travels and at church. But more than challenging me in physical fitness, Dan encouraged me to pursue spiritual growth, service, and relationships with others, both by his direct encouragement to me as well as through his own example.
Yesterday, we all had hot pot dinner at Seapot with them as a final farewell. Priscilla and I wanted to pay, but they wouldn't let us. Just another instance of the many times they've been generous to us. We'll miss them a lot, but a future trip to Boston is in the cards for us. I'd be down for doing an obstacle course race there, and Priscilla has been researching flights. Some church guys are also thinking about doing next year's Monterey Spartan, and Dan and the family are considering flying back for that. Our friendship means a lot to me and I really hope that we can maintain it. But maintenance requires more than just hope.
So far, the people with whom I've had the closest relationships have all moved away and contact has become infrequent, if we haven't fallen out of touch completely. High school and college friends. My college roommate of four years. My two officemates from my last company. Friends from my current company. Church friends that we would often eat with on Sunday. People move, drift apart, make new friends. It's part of life and I'm sure it's true in everyone's life. And there's always a reason for not reaching out. I'm busy. They're busy. I'm always the one who initiates; why does it always have to be me? I'll get to it another day - there will be time.
And yet, time is slipping away and one day it will be too late. Everything good requires work. If we don't spend the time to pursue the things that matter, then one day, perhaps at the end of our life, we will look back with regret. I don't want that to be me.