No Politics. No debates. No I’m right, and you are wrong.
As I wrote in an earlier perspective, three lifelong friends were coming to visit me, all sharing political views that were opposite of mine. In pursuit of harmony, I had respectively requested we avoid political discussions during our precious three-day reunion.
I am happy to report, we stayed the course.
Perhaps it was the beauty of the woods and water that surrounded us. Maybe it was laughing over long-ago memories: grade school sleepovers, old boyfriends, cheerleading. Perhaps it was the making of new memories: kayaking through purple and gold water lilies, looking for bears on a forest jeep ride, gazing at the Milky Way on a starlit night.
Whatever the reason, we avoided coloring each other in the red or blue politics that ruins so many relationships. Instead, freedom from politics and other divisive topics became a gift to ourselves, a chance to focus on the good that surrounded us, the good in each other.
On our last night together, as golden light filtered through the pines, we joyfully listened to some old 45s-the Shirelles, the Beach Boys, the Beatles-songs from our teenage years-and for a moment we were the young girls we had once been, hopes and dreams and a world of possibilities ahead of us.
It was a magical moment filled with peace and serenity, a reminder of the ties that had bound us together in the first place. And even though the world and ourselves have changed over the decades, I am so very grateful we each chose to strengthen those beautiful bonds once again.
