Old Friends

Snow tonight, or so says the weather report. My lower back and right knee seem to agree with this forecast. This time, I have remembered to take the snow brush and ice scraper out of the car so they will not be frozen inside where they will do me no good tomorrow. This is the dark time of year, the season of dying, I call it as the cold and short days conspire to keep my mood as bleak as possible. The time of year that marks the anniversaries of the death of my husband, my father and my mother, in that order. Loss, as much as anything else, gives shape to our lives.

The lesson for me from this is to live every moment. Tonight, before the roads are covered with ice and snow, Don and I will go out for dinner with George and Anne. Old friends, substitute our names for yours or anyone. Old, now, in every sense of the word. But once, not that long ago, or so it seems, we were so young.

Fill in the blanks with your own history. George and I met in ____ (law school). We were in the same ____ (study group), lived through ____ (the blizzard of ’78), went to each other’s _______ (George and Anne’s wedding, Paul’s funeral) watched our ______ (children) grow up. While I’ve only known Don for two years, I’ve known George for half a century and Anne since they met decades ago.

It’s such a comfort to have old friends, and I have been much blessed in that regard. Childhood friends, college friends, people I’ve worked with, they are all part of this bright tapestry that has been my life. As we move into 2026, I am profoundly grateful for everyone who has stuck with me over the years, especially the difficult years. Auld acquaintances.

I hope we all make it through 2026. New Jersey will have a new Governor. New York City will have a new Mayor. I am upbeat about both of those things. There’s a primary election in New Jersey on February 5, 2026, to fill soon to be Governor, Mikie Sherrill’s, seat in Congress. Brendan Gill, whom I have known since he was a teenager when he volunteered on my campaign for the Montclair Township Council (Yes, in one of my lives I spent two terms on the council. One of these days I might write about that part of my life), is running for her seat. I’m hoping he wins. Vote for him if you live in the district, please. My granddaughter will have her Bat Mitzvah in the spring. I am grateful to be able to look forward to things. I hope you are too.

I’ve had a few poems published in The Opiate the past few weeks if you’d like to take a look. Here is the other link. https://theopiatemagazine.com/2025/12/15/across-the-universe-by-jessica-de-koninck/. Now I leave you, as I often seem to do, with Simon and Garfunkel, Old Friends.

Wishing you a Happy & Healthy New Year!!!