I asked Google why aged wine tastes better and it told me that it’s because of the chemical reactions between sugars, acids, and phenolic compounds. I was looking to tie this into friendships and Google gave me the perfect answer:)
As I’ve been visiting my home in Kansas for the last week, it’s been a different feeling from most of the previous times I’ve visited. I really feel like I don’t live here anymore. I feel like my current home is in Austin. 28 of the last 36 months have been spent away from my home in Kansas, but previously it always felt like a temporary move always with the plan to move back home afterward. Now that I’m in Austin and considering what my next steps will look like, my “home” in Kansas doesn’t seem like it’s going to be where I end up after Austin.
At the same time, as I get together with friends and family, it’s crazy how easy it has been to get right back into the swing of things. In some ways, perhaps due to having a lighter workload, it’s been easier to connect and spend time with people.
As I think about aged friendships as I do aged wine, it’s interesting to think about these “chemical reactions.” It seems that sometimes the chemical reactions create a better taste and sometimes they create a bad taste. Some friendships actually do better after time not seeing each other. We can pick up right where we left off and in some ways are even more excited to see each other and talk about the exciting things happening in our lives.
Other friendships, it seems it’s a struggle to reconnect after so much time gone. The “chemical reactions” haven’t been favorable and have created, maybe not a bad taste, but certainly not a better taste. There just isn’t the chemistry that once was there.
These aged friendships are so sweet, though. To be able to be in a different place both in life and geographically and come back and have such a good time is such a blessing. I greatly cherish these friendships.
As I mentioned in my post the other day, I’m very excited to be back in Austin so that I can focus in again on work and making progress on the next quarter, this has been a much needed refreshing time and I’m so grateful to God for it.