I didn’t plan to vlog that night. It was just another dinner with my high school friends - the same group I’ve shared laughter and life stories with since we graduated in 1997. After our graduation three decades ago, we’ve made it a point to meet at least a couple of times a year. It’s our quiet promise to each other - a tradition that’s survived moves, careers, families, and even the long silence of the pandemic lockdown.
Every dinner feels familiar - the same jokes, the same stories, the same laughter that somehow never gets old. We eat, we talk, we play billiards or basketball, like we always do. It’s a rhythm that feels like home.
But this night turned out different.
After dinner and another round of friendly teasing over missed shots and old memories, they surprised me with a cake - my very first birthday cake from them. I didn’t see it coming. The laughter turned into applause, and the jokes quieted into something that felt a little like love - the kind that doesn’t always need to be said, just shown.
I don’t usually get surprised, but that moment caught me completely off guard. It was simple - no grand gestures, just sincerity. And it meant more than I could say.
Maybe that’s what friendship really is - showing up, year after year, and still finding new ways to make each other feel remembered. Through the years, we’ve changed in so many ways - older faces, weaker bodies, busier lives - but the bond remains the same. Maybe even stronger.
As I looked around the table, I realized something: not everyone gets to keep the same friends this long. Some friendships fade with time; ours somehow learned to grow with it.
So yes, this vlog wasn’t planned. But I’m glad I pressed record. Because someday, I’ll want to remember this - the laughter, the stories, and the night they made me feel celebrated without even trying.
Here’s to friendship that lasts. To laughter that never grows old.
And to being surprised by kindness, even after all these years.
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