That’s what this weekend was all about for me — looking backward, but not in a bad way. There were so many people at my 45th college reunion whom I really never got to know very well while we were in college. Most of them were the class leaders. I wasn’t one of them. I always preferred the fringes, where I didn’t have to live up to the expectations of others — part of my rebellion from my family of origin, where expectations for behavior ran high.
So, as a result, I’m getting to know many of these former classmates for the first time. I guess it’s the right time, because we all certainly had a great time.
I’m thinking about the passage of time today. Here’s a diptych of the group of six of us who have been very close friends for about 15 years. The first photo is from about 5 years ago; the second from yesterday. ( I guess a lot of our socializing centers around eating.)

As I watched “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants:” last week, I found myself really missing those friends, so I was delighted that they all got together to have breakfast with me the morning after my class reunion.
While I often feel isolated here, as my mother’s caregiver, I am realizing that, however invisible my ties to other people sometimes seem to me, they are there, and I have to make more of an effort to strengthen them.
I have often blogged about “all my life’s a circle” — or maybe it’s more of a spiral. I have to make more of an effort to make sure than I keep heading upward as I go around.