After 21 Years Apart

When you move around a lot as a kid, you don’t build a lot of lasting relationships. From 1995-1999, when I was living in Oregon, Joel Williams was the closest thing I had to a best friend, someone to hold me accountable, to challenge me and inspire me, to laugh and be absurd with me. Today, he’s a remarkable husband and father of four, a veteran math teacher of 22 years, and a long time soccer coach. But I hadn’t seen him in 21 years, not since we watched Jerry Rice get carried off the field at his last game in San Francisco, back in December of 2000, not until last night, when he and his wife came to spend a few hours with us at the lake. It’s hard to understate the surreal blessing of seeing and still loving a friend after so many years apart.