the roamer<p>Old friends coming over. We know each other since school, decades ago. We last met 7 years ago. </p><p>At my stage in life, this means wrinkles and all sorts of rather visible changes to our bodies. Not incapacity, necessarily, but an annoying dominance of wear and tear, all over.</p><p>Old friends meet, each absorbs the shock of seeing what is happening to the other, each recognises that their friend has the same experience.</p><p>Also: the joy of complete trust when meeting those old friends. Laughing together about subtle references to events 50 years back. The affirmation of having done a few things right in our lives. The easy recognition of past mistakes. All is good now. We have left those grudges and embarrassments behind us.</p><p>My braised ox cheek, slow-cooked in the chicken stock that I had made especially for the occasion in the week before: a success. Enjoying simple things together, based on a half century of shared experiences, good and bad.</p><p><a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/friendship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>friendship</span></a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/aging" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>aging</span></a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/trust" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>trust</span></a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/OldFriends" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OldFriends</span></a></p>