If you can believe it, yesterday marked the 5 year anniversary of the beginning of the Covid Shutdown of 2020.

Later that year, my wife and I planned our first ever “vacation without the kids”. Based on travel restrictions at the time, we chose as our destination: the great outdoors of Colorado.

Before we left, I made a point to reach out to my friend Josh Johnson, who I had heard moved there. He and I had not seen each other since we graduated high school together in 1999.

The vacation to Colorado was definitely one of my favorites, as it was, but seeing Josh again made it even better.

This past week, Josh happened to be in town from Colorado, so we caught up again; which made 40 years since originally meeting in pre-school at Fort Payne First Methodist Church in 1985.

It was while meeting with him this time that I realized: One of my favorite things to do in life is to hang out with people.

In other words, to be social without any agenda. Just to be human like we were designed.

I do remember telling my mom, “I’m big now. I’m ready to go to school.” I remember her taking my picture at our house before she drove me for my first day of pre-school in January 1985.

But it wasn’t about me going there because I wanted to learn. I was ready to go to school because my 4 year-old brain understood clearly: “I am a social person. I need to be around people.”

And anyone who knows me as an adult in modern-day, knows this: I am a social person. I need to be around people.

In hindsight, I now realize that ever since my job went remote 5 years ago, I have been putting in that much more of an effort to proactively connect with people; outside of my own house.

I’m at the gym every morning before work. I schedule a lunch meeting with at least one friend each Friday. I am part of a Jeep club in my town as well.

Anytime there is a social event going on where I live, I am definitely there.

It is now becoming common knowledge that men, especially, tend to forsake other male friendships once they get married and have kids; in addition to the responsibility of their careers.

Male friendships become the lowest priority, by default. That has certainly been the case for me.

But noticeably, these past 5 years since the Covid Shutdown of 2020 have noticeably improved the quality of my life.

Granted, part of that is because my kids are older now and don’t require as much constant attention. And as mentioned before, I don’t have to commute to and from work anymore.

Perhaps it’s a rite of passage for men in their 40s: That there is suddenly more time and space to focus on having other males as friends again.

For me, it’s pretty much a status symbol I have now unlocked.