Guys Weekends are Important to Recharge and Reform Bonds

In a world where we are less connected, it is essential to reconnect

Arial shot of Rough River. Bryce Phillps. All images either by the author or with permission.

It is a fact of life that as we age, spending time with friends becomes increasingly difficult. Careers, marriages, kids, and just the events of life often mean we spend less time with friends than when we were younger.

While in my twenties, my friends and I would hang out almost every weekend and several times during the week; now, it's only a few times a year that we get together. We used to have a larger social circle with whom we would hang out and party, and now it is a handful of guys with whom we have maintained strong bonds over the last twenty-plus years. While we don't see each other regularly, we maintain an ongoing group chat.

Every few months, we get together to grab some dinner and have a few drinks. It's a good way to catch up and maintain our friendship. About once a year, we plan a guys' weekend. Often, it is somewhere within driving distance, and we rent an Airbnb and spend a few days there. In January, we celebrated one of my friends' 40th birthdays in New Orleans.

A few years ago, one of the guys and his wife bought a lake house. Louisville is not far from Rough River, which is an excellent spot for camping and boating. This has begun a new…