Wednesday
01 May 2002.
May Day.

The holiday or observance of ‘May Day’ hasn’t really meant much to me since elementary school. Then, it was basically a day when we played games or had picnic lunches. May Pole. Track and Field Day. You get the idea.

Instead, the day has been important to me because it is the birthday of my friend, Bret. Bret is the person I have known the longest in my life… aside from my parents and other family members. He was born roughly six months after me and we grew up together – our mothers having been friends since before we were born. With a handful of exceptions, we have always been there (or at least tried to be there) for each other when it mattered. Well, there was that one time…. and then that other time… and we won’t even mention THAT time. But I digress…

I called Bret today to wish him a ‘Happy Birthday’ and to remind him that he’s getting old. He asked me what I was talking about; being a good friend, I happily reminded him that he turned 31. He laughed and told me,”Nope… I’m 21 today.” I should have remembered that: A few years ago, he told me that he was going to start aging in reverse and that he would let (and watch) me get old while he got younger. Nice trick, if you can pull it off. We talked for a short while before we both had to go.

I consider myself blessed and fortunate enough to have friends with whom I may not speak for days or weeks (or even months) on end, but given a phone call or a brief visit, it is like almost no time has passed. Or, in Bret’s case: time has gone backwards.

Happy Birthday.