Long distance

Our oldest friend just retired from Boeing at 55, just as he always planned. He's been a regular visitor at the farm for years... our families tried to get together every Saturday night, our place or theirs, for dinner or movies or just hanging out. We have cabins on the same lake. Then in 2002 they bought a house in Ellensburg, and he started commuting on weekends. The social dynamic changed, too... the advent of my farm dinners, with Bernie and a mountain biking friend, Greg.

But the social life is changing once again, and it's worrying me. At his retirement gathering tonight, we found a quiet corner and talked about it for a while, about his plans, Linda's plans, his mother's plans. I reminded him that our guest room is theirs anytime they want; he said he knows, and plans to make good use of it. Even as a stopping off point between the cabin and Ellensburg, our place is theirs.

I hope we can make it work, can find another routine to make into a habit. Otherwise it will be really hard to stay together, keep the closeness going. He said from now instead of the Dave & Lissa & Bernie & Greg show, it will be the Dave & Lissa & Bernie & Linda show. Linda has missed out the past few years, and she feels it. I think we have the chance to get back to where we were, getting together on a regular basis. But it will take commitment and effort by all of us, or it won't work at all.