Sad news from an old friend

I had an unexpected call from someone in my high school class tonight. She told me that one of our classmates had recently died in a motorcycle accident. It was tragic news, but I hadn't heard anything about him in years, so it didn't affect me as much as it would have years ago. It's strange how you can spend so much time with a group of people, only to lose touch upon graduation. It's also strange how quickly all the intervening years can fall away when an old friend calls. I spent enough time talking with her that my husband gave up and went to bed. Why do we feel compelled to remind each other of our shared experiences? It is somehow comforting to know someone else shares the memories that were otherwise only in my head. I regret losing touch after graduation, but that is a trend I continued after college. I am amazed at the people who have continuity of friendships from childhood until old age. I feel like I leave so much behind at each stage of my life, only to revisit the past unexpectedly at moments like tonight's phone call.
Categories: friends, highschool, memories, relationships