Summer used to be all about the sea, and for me it still mostly is. Years have passed and some summer days I have grown to love not because I can rush off to the seaside and spend days in the water but because they bring people who live far away back to Croatia. And they bring back memories and fun with them.
The school year ends mid June in Croatia, so the highschool reunions are a thing in the second half of June/beginning of July. I only ever went to one, and had a blast. I have no idea whether there were any others but the one a few years ago was awesome, especially since a lot of the people who had moved far, far away happened to be in town. My highschool class was an assortment of wildly varied, spirited and unique girls who turned out to have become very interesting people.
Ana is the one I miss the most, from all of my highschool friends. When she comes to town, I get to see all the other women who still live here but life always manages to stop me from seeing somehow. For the longest time, she would come visit from New York only every seven or so years. Last summer she came for a whirlwind visit and this summer for a longer, more planned one.
It was totally what I needed at the time – someone to jumpstart the old me. It was already happening on another track, but it would have been so much less fun and so much less intense without the highschool reunion feeling Ana’s visits always bring.
Late summer nights spent talking, rehashing old jokes, laughing at old behaviours, retelling old stories and finding out details that used be secrets back in the day which are now things that can be told and laughed about and not lamented. Re-evaluating our lives, sharing experiences and taking comfort in still being who we were when we were young.
I really needed the reminder. To remember what it felt like to be me, and to feel like me again. The energy old friends bring is amazing, and I should (remember to) tap into it more often.
