Apart But Together: On Forever Friends and Having a Blast in Turkey
Istanbul gave us contrast—bustling energy, winding streets, layers of history and modern life. We explored in short, deliberate bursts. We weren’t there to conquer it all. We were there to catch up.
“I don’t need religion or God to give my life meaning. Because time gives it meaning. We started this life together. We’re going through it apart, but we’re still together.”
That line from Carrie Coon in The White Lotus hit me in the gut when I watched the season finale, delivered with so much love and gratitude. If you’ve ever loved someone for a long time, not in a romantic way, but in the this-person-knows-the-architecture-of-my-heart kind of way, then you get it. Time does give it meaning. That’s what friendship is. Especially the long ones. The ones that stretch across decades and continents, showing up at every version of you and still choosing to stay
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what a gift it is to have those kinds of friends—the forever friends. The 15, 20, 30-year ones. The ones who remember your first job, your heartbreaks, your family dynamics from the inside. Friends who were there before you grew into your career, your kid, your therapist-approved boundaries. Friends who witnessed it all.
What makes these friendships so precious isn’t some big, cinematic thing. It’s the mundane stuff: running errands together, sharing leftovers, showing up with goodies and snacks after a rough day, texting from the store about whether you should go with this or that. It’s being in the same room, even in silence. It’s proximity. Boring, beautiful proximity.
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