aim true

It seemed like a lifetime since we’d seen them. In all actuality it was three lifetimes ago … our youngest and two of their three children all had been born since the last time we got together. Deciding to put the miles behind us we organized a Saturday lunch halfway between our homes. It was a spot where we had taken many meals together before any these kids came along.

Smack between St. Louis and Kansas City, nestled along I-70 is the town of Columbia, Mo., home to the University of Missouri and Shakespeare’s Pizza. Every college town has a place. Some, like Columbia, have two or even three. It’s the place poor college students gather for buy-one-get-one specials and where alumni come to eat all the stuff they associate with good times and good friends.

People say it all the time: Let’s do lunch. We should have dinner. How about coffee sometime? Saturday we finally made one happen. I don’t really remember eating the pizza. I know I ate it, but I was too busy trying to catch up with old friends and keep up with those amazing kids, three girls (ages 9, 8 and 6) and three boys (ages 7, 5 and 3).

The food is just an excuse. It’s the red dot you focus on as those rings of life swirl around you. Really it’s the conversation we’re shooting for. And when we slow down just a tiny bit we’re able to aim true. Sometimes that means driving 90 minutes for pizza on a Saturday when the undefeated football team is out of town. Other times it means turning off the TV and sitting together at the kitchen table. Either way, it’s possible. Pull back, breathe out and nail that target smack in the center this week.