At Long Last.

I finally got it.

Because it was a world not open to me, never available, I brushed off its value.  I thought all the rituals surrounding it were silly, childish, and seriously over-rated.  I couldn’t understand why people would travel…sometimes long distances….to recreate the scene, to keep a toe in those waters, to go back.

But now I get it.  At long last.

We recently spent a week-end with three of my husband’s fraternity brothers and the distaff members of their families.

I watched as “mature” faces relaxed and dissolved into laughter.  Concerns and problems faded away.  Hair actually seemed to grow on balding heads.  Worry lines disappeared.  Replaced by the fun and joy of remembering and recalling.

They forgot their secret handshake but the lawyer in the group rallied his sharp mind and it all came back.

Stories that have been told many times were told again. And again.  Far-distant brothers were called and brought up to date.

Together, we laughed so hard and talked so loud, we either irritated or engaged those  near us.  At dinner one night, a gentleman seated next to us Googled the college song and serenaded us on his way out.  Waitresses benefited from our wine-induced largess.  The owner of another restaurant sent free shots of Tequila to the table.

We briefly waded into the political waters but decided, wisely, not to stay there too long.  Our mission was not to solve the world’s problems but to try to laugh them into perspective.

Once upon a time, I would have shrugged my shoulders at all that and basically said: “So what?”

But now, you see, I understand. I get it.  I appreciate the value of those bonds.…those fraternal bonds.  I wish I’d understood them earlier but late is better than never.

And I won’t be likely to forget them anytime soon.