The tied threads of life unravel in ways you’d never expect. Some of the tightest-holding strands I’ve doubted and a few of those I thought would last forever are loose.

Our mixed net of expectations is never what we envisioned performing above. At certain times in life I’ve felt as if there was no net to catch me at all.

Recently though I’ve had this experience of old friends weaving themselves back into the social tapestry.

Checking an e-mail I’d all but left for dead, the kind of account that’s ridiculously named after some bizarre high school experience, it was an ideal place to discover a link to the past.

An e-mail scribble with the affection of time long-passed and an impatience equally as distant. Phrases like “I’ve been trying to get hold of you forever,” “What have you been up to?” “We should keep in touch,” “I thought you were dead” and “Why haven’t you contacted me?” all rolled into one.

Sitting blankly at the computer, I realized there was obviously a lot of explaining I needed to do.