By Tricia Lunt, English Faculty.
Well, not quite. Stacy is not yet 40. I am headed to celebrate with her, the “youngest” amongst us, in Columbus over Labor Day weekend. Like the youngest in every group, she never lets us forget. I should know; I am the youngest of my siblings, so even though I am not young, per se, I am the youngest, which is still something.
Although I am no longer young, I still feel rather youthful, and I certainly don’t miss youth. So much worry: anxiety and naiveté all wrapped in uncertainty. I do miss the notion of infinite possibility—where would life take me, I wondered? With age, possibilities narrow. Some possibilities are still within reach, some aren’t. “And so it goes,” said Vonnegut.
As far as getting older is concerned, I tend to hold to the maxim of “it sure beats the alternative.” One of the many wonderful things about aging is the legacy of love shared with others. Many people have been my friends for more than half of my life. My “high school” friends, all of whom I have known since I was 16 (or even earlier), and I have shared tremendous things—a group of us actually went along on Jenny & Brent’s honeymoon trip from Munich up the Rhine via riverboat to Amsterdam! We’ve celebrated accomplishments large and small. More importantly, we were there.
Memories do not conform to the laws of physics: moments feel like a bazillion years ago and yesterday in the same instant. I recently discovered a photo that I thought no longer existed. It is a picture of Stacy and me; we are 17 in the photo. 23 years have passed, quite impossibly, quite miraculously.
Even if the picture had not reemerged, I would have remembered the moment. The photo is evidence of a particular moment. Countless others went unrecorded, but remain the foundation of over 20 years of friendship. Consider those statistical breakdowns performed to measure how people occupy their time. You know the ones that reveal terrifying truths like the average American spends 34 hours per week watching TV (seriously! My guess was 18) I shall now endeavor to quite unscientifically quantify the time spent with my high school friends, all of whom I still see as often as possible and torment with even more frequency.
Knowing what I know, speculating and hoping and looking back with my most sentimental vision, I’d suggest this might be a fairly accurate representation.
Talking in person 3 years
Talking on the phone 6 months
Smoking (we’ve nearly all quit) 3 months
Mocking each other 3 years
Arguing 3 days
Texting 1 month
Communicating via Facebook 2 months
Communicating via email 6 months
Mocking each other via text, Facebook, or email 1 year
Going out for Dinner 6 months
Meeting for drinks 2 years
Spending the night 1 month
Morning breakfasts at Bitchin’ Kitchen 1 month
Having breakfast in each other’s kitchens 1 month
Watching movies 1 month
Taking walks 1 month
Driving around 6 months
Singing along 1 year
Road trips 2 weeks
Spring Breaking in Florida (compulsory for Ohioans) 1 week
Vacationing 1 month
Tailgating at Ohio State 4 months
Attending Loser Bowls (Browns’ football games) 4 days
Personalizing t-shirts and hats with inside jokes 3 days
Acoustic guitar sets 1 week
Good concerts 1 week
Bad concerts 1 month
Bonfire parties 6 months
Birthday parties 2 years
Costume parties 1 year
Graduation parties 1 year
Wedding Parties 6 months
Baby Congratulations 1 month
Divorce parties 2 days
Contemplating Life’s Great Mysteries the remainder +1
Here’s to looking forward to another 23 years, and another.
The Flâneur's Turtle 
You did not mention the amount of time one might spend lying on “The Couch” or running about on a windy day with ones genitals hanging out in hopes of catching a intense wind gust. Although you mentioned “Bitchin Kitchen” you did not delve into those 2 brothers who would lay out a barrage of insults upon their closest friends 🙂 good to see you sweetie happy to see you are so happy :))
That’s an awesome feeling to have , to be able to still have your long friends from high school. Most people lose there connection with there fellow students from either high school or college. So its really nice for you to share this great experience of you and your friends turning 40.