We’ve known each other 13 years

There’s been a million places between

A start at the zoo, a launch pad

It highlighted a connection we didn’t know we had

Not one for religion, you’d say

I kept all my preaching at bay

Life is unfolding in an unusual but pleasant way

I’m reading a novel

That I’m also living

Steep hikes—in New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado—are forgiving

Altitude is like attitude

How pleasant it is to share food-with friends

Detroit-style pizza, which I didn’t know was a thing

And Aussie lattes

Mid-morning strolls with my husband are still my favorite getaways

Driving to the lake

Is more fun than anyone would think

After some refreshments we sit in Denver traffic

An old Wheezer song comes on

We all squeak, “Bev-er-ly Hiiiillls…”

Never mind that our voices are worse than static

We all discuss the lone pretty driver in the Subaru

Sitting in the traffic, there’s not much else to do

We later decide she makes it home safely

We talk about kids one day. Maybe.

But then yours next to me complains

I sense my mind change

We talk investments, retirement, our grandfathers

The Pacific and Atlantic waters

This morning’s run was a blast

Coming down the hills is like outrunning the past

Sunburns and gravity are still here

I don’t have so much aplomb anymore

Of what am I really sure?

Good novels, good discussions have a way of doing that

From all the places we’ve been, there are a million flags

Who is behind them all?

We’re all afraid now when our parents call

But not because we’re out past curfew

Did they fall?

These mid-life concerns are nothing new

Let’s keep conversing

I’m down for learning

I’ll see you at the top of the mountain

Or at the bottom of the hill

In another 13 years, be there—still

Like the clouds we pass

Our years are layers on the face of the Rockies

Our laughter and tears are the snow’s topping

And that is life with friends