Have You Really Grown Up?

I’ve hung out with the same core group of guys since grade school. A few of them for over 35 years now — which blows my mind.

Also makes me feel old as hell.

I know how rare it is to have any friendship this long, not to mention more than ten of them. My buddy Frenchie ¹ joked that he dates women much younger than our friendship. Puts it into perspective.

We know insanely embarrassing  things about each other, where the “bodies are buried,” and hold each other secrets — well, the ones we haven’t told. We’ve been through graduations, marriages, divorces, births, deaths, job losses, health issues, insane girlfriends, bad haircuts, terrible clothes, crazy wives, funny glasses and everything else you could imagine … and we still plug along ².

You’d think when you’ve known someone forever, you’d be able to give this long, drawn out story about how everyone has changed and evolved. But the opposite is true. Or at least it seems that way. Everybody is pretty much the same — the good and the bad.

Most of the stuff that irritated us about each other in 9th grade still irritates us now. The ones that bitched, still bitch. The ones that were flaky are still flaky, the ones who can’t commit to plans, still can’t commit and the ones that hurt everyone’s feelings … still do it.

We’re now into our 40′s and have planned our 16th (or is it 17th?) annual Guy’s Weekend. It’s great because we get away from the responsibilities of life that can burn you out and just hang.

You’d think everyone would be bending over backward to make it happen and excited … well, you’d be wrong.

We go through the same arguments as we did when we were in high school and college. It blows my mind. I wonder if we just act this way towards each other, or if we’re pretty much the same in other circles?

As you read this we’re probably in a heated argument over who was the hottest chick in high school or what singer is the greatest heavy metal voice of our time. I wonder though, do any of us ever really grow up? Or does it just seem that we don’t to the people closest to us?

Maybe we’re the exact same as we have always been. With less hair, more responsibilities and nicer cars.

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Tagged as: Buddies, Getting Older, Work