I have several amazing friends who live far away from my home. I take pride in the fact that I maintain meaningful connections even though we miss day-to-day interactions. Recently, I’ve started talking to these cherished long-standing friends more often.

I relish my weekly call on Sundays at 10 a.m. with my friend Katy. We met 41 years ago on September 7^th, 1981. This was the day we both stepped on a ship to go around the world. We were randomly assigned as roommates. It was one of the luckiest days of my life.

Our room was small. We spent four months in an inside double with no windows, bunk beds, and lockers for our closets. If we did not get along, we would have been in serious trouble, but we clicked. We traveled, studied, partied, and shared our deepest thoughts in the pitch-black nights, navigating our emergence into adulthood.

When we said goodbye after circumnavigating the world, I returned to San Francisco and she went home to San Pedro, opposite ends of California. What were the chances our friendship would survive the distance and the years gone by?

That question was answered this past weekend when Katy flew in from Southern California to spend the weekend in the mountains.  We headed up into the Sierras and soon realized our weekly conversations had changed our friendship for the better.

We did not have to catch up. Our connection had been nourished so we could dive into subjects at a deeper, even more rewarding level. With consistent communication, we were closer than ever.

I share this with you because I think most of us enjoy long-standing friendships, but we also let time go by without checking in. I never thought I was paying a high price for the infrequent conversations. I was—and I want to invite you to explore how your life could be enriched if you stay in closer touch with your treasured long-distance friends.