A Weekend of Invigoration Through Brotherhood
Everyone has that special type of friendship, right? Where it doesn't matter how much time passes? Every time you get together, it's like you just pick up right where you left off.
I consider myself blessed with not just one of those friendships, but several. A group of us who grew up playing in the same neighborhood, together more than twenty years later... many now with wives and kids of their own (in fact, believe it or not, but I'm the only single one among us! Hahaha!)
Despite all of us being in our 30s, when I'm with them, it's like I'm a kid again. The friendly jabs. The physical ones. The constant laughter: nothing has changed at all.
Can you guess which one isn't on any social media?
An Annual Retreat
It all started with Boy Scouts. Within a bike's ride to each others' homes, we'd spend weekends and summers exploring the wooded creeks behind our neighborhood like they were vast forests.
These days, we can't get together after school every day. We have jobs. Families. We're not just scattered across Texas, but across the United States. And almost two years ago now, one of us passed away in a terrible accident.
Nonetheless, we still make it a point to get together at least once a year for a big trip... to remember, recharge and revel.
Decades later, and we're still exploring "forests" together. Last weekend we travelled to the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, to backpack up the Buck Eye Mountain and camp near the peak. It was more than a 2,000 foot climb, with lots of narrow paths, rocks and steep inclines. All in all, it wouldn't have been so bad, but it rained on us throughout our entire descent!!
I no longer work for Spectrum, but damn did they use a good rain jacket!!
The 50-pound rucksack, filled with food and camping gear, was bad enough. But soaked with rain? My hiking shoes soaked with rain? My jeans soaked with rain? Slippery rocks shifted beneath our feet with every step - that was a draining ordeal in and of itself. To say it was difficult would be an understatement, but...
There was no group of people I would have rather done it with.
As exhausting as the weekend was, I came back to work Election Day completely recharged. It was just the reset I needed, a mental health weekend to disconnect and reconnect.
Too wet for a campfire, but we still had a gas burner to make tea with!
Going Outside to Play
These aren't just close friends, but brothers. Family. I don't have to pretend or swagger or repress... the inconveniences that come with more shallow friendships. I can let my guard down and truly be myself. We love each other completely unconditionally, just like you would any other sibling.
And I think when you are able to drop all of those masks, peel back all of your layers... that's when you're able to find the child inside. I don't think that kid ever goes away, ever. But responsibility and societal expectations force us to pretend otherwise. There are bills to pay, families to take care of, bosses to please... being an adult is exhausting!
That's why being with my brothers is so refreshing. Letting that kid out to play isn't just fun, I wholeheartedly believe it's required for a healthy mind and gentle spirit. Sure, our conversations are a little more adult - politics, fatherhood, marriage - but together we can still disconnect and forget about those responsibilities.
We passed down our rucksacks here to help us with the descent
Then there's Chris. He would have been 31 just a week before our trip. We don't just have matching memorial tattoos or carry his ashes around our necks, we carry his spirit too. Nearly three years later, I still find it hard to talk about him. I think about him daily, but the pain never truly goes away. But remembering him is easy around them. After all, he lives through all of us.
One of my buddies hung on to a groomsmen gift for Chris following his death. We bring it along every trip.
If I didn't have these weekends, our annual trip, I don't know how I'd get through the rest of the year. Life can be a lot. It's stressful and messy and tiring. We can't get through it alone. You need a support network, a home made of people who love you for you.
It makes me sad to think there are some who aren't as fortunate as me, and I try to remember that. I try to remember how lucky and grateful I am. It helps me stay grounded and connected to the child inside of me.
I still see those kids I grew up with. Hell, I still am one of those kids. It's an annual reminder that life doesn't have to be so serious around the people you love! And hey, who couldn't use that reminder from time to time?
Until next time, thanks for reading!
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