Invisible threads are the strongest ties.

I read this sentence in a travel book by Bill Bryson, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, and I had to pause. I guess everyone can read into any statement a person makes and create their own takeaway. But this comment struck a chord with me. And it struck a chord because of the timing. Rick and I were preparing to return back to New England for a 25 year reunion of our Wallace Circle cul-de-sac in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Oh, the memories!

Living around the United States during our marriage, we always pondered how we would remember each state and time. Our daughters were toddlers when we moved to Boca Raton, Florida and we determined that this was fortuitous because they lived in bathing suits for 3 years! It was easy to dress them each day because they literally put on a swim suit every morning. They learned to swim across the pool underwater by the time they were three and they fell in love with the ocean. All of this happened because we lived in Florida.

Moving to the Northeast to Londonderry, New Hampshire when they were elementary school age was another perfect place and time. Finding a newly opened area called Wallace Circle, several families were all converging on the street to build homes. Many of our new neighbors were from New England, but there were four families which were like us. Transplants to New Hampshire. Yet, the Transplants and the New Englanders created a camaraderie that was truly unparalleled. These friends with last names like Grabowski, Cwalinski, and Collocchi. We literally planned a gathering every month. A pumpkin carving party in October. A Labor Day picnic in September. A Memorial Day gathering in May. An end of school get-together in June. We celebrated anything and everything. And then when we all turned 40, we commemorated the event in crazy ways like renting a school bus to drive all of us into Boston for a feast at Durgin Park. There were 30 kids in the cul de sac and they all played together every afternoon. Games like Kick the Can. And when it was time for dinner, one of us would call a neighbor and tell them to send the children home. We had Sledding Saturdays at Mack’s Apples and Old Home Days Parades. We felt like we lived inside a Norman Rockwell painting. Life was idyllic.

So when we decided to return to New Hampshire for a visit after 25 years, we contacted the neighbors to see if we could rendezvous. And everyone was in.

We spent a delightful seven hours visiting and reminiscing. It was like we had never been separated. We were all 40 years old again as we chatted about our lives back then and our lives now. What the children were doing. Where they were living. How we ALL had been filling our years.

Leaving the gathering, Rick and I smiled. It was important to keep the connections with friends, no matter how long ago we were all together as neighbors. We experienced the same invisible thread when we returned back to Lafayette, Colorado to live this summer. Reconnecting with friends and neighbors was a delight and a treat. It took the two months to visit each and every one. But it was important. Connections are essential. Relationships are indispensable. Invisible threads are truly the strongest ties.

I legami invisibili sono davvero i legami più forti.