First impressions

Few things bring the simple pleasure of opening a CD for the first time and listening to it beginning to end. Being introduced to each song with no preconceived ideas, no expectations – pure and open to all possibilities. It could be horrible, true. But it could be amazingly wonderful and each song brings with it that little bit of joy and pleasure in meeting something for the first time.

This morning, I’m being introduced to Liz Goodgame’s Fresh Lemonade. Liz is a former colleague from the OUA days at UTMB. She and her husband moved to Delaware several years back. It had been her dream to record an album before her 30th birthday. As I’m listening to each amazing song, I’m at first in awe of her talent and second inspired not just by her music, but her ability to make that dream a reality.

That is my first impression of this album. Like so many things in life, though, the key is keeping that first impression. I wonder, how do we go through each day trying to keep that same awe and joy that comes with that first fabulous impression?

Take the people we know. I love those early days in a new friendship when you’re getting to know each other. Everything is new. Anything is possible. Then, as a true relationship develops, you grow more comfortable and that first impression drifts away into routine. If you’re lucky, it’s a good routine and you have trust and respect and compassion for one another. But, sometimes that routine can grown into something unpleasant. It grows into something too comfortable – where instead of continuing to learn about each other, we end up stuck at one place, with one set of perceptions and one set of expectations. We end up taking each other for granted instead of practicing daily respect and appreciation for one another, instead of remembering the joy of those first impressions and getting to know someone.

I have friends I have known for 20 years. I know I’m not the same person I was 20 years ago. And neither are they. But we grew together. I still remember the good times in the beginning, but the beautiful part is knowing that no matter what, when we are together today, we are still learning about each other, still showing interest in the lives of the others. I used to think it was just this unique set of people in my life. They are good people, but more than that, we’ve all worked hard to maintain our relationships on a current level instead of based on just what we once were.

I have friends I was once close with who I never speak to anymore. We just drifted away. The only difference I can figure between these relationships and the ones that have endured is the amount we were willing to give each other, and the willingness to get to know each other continually as we changed and grew as individuals.

So I wonder…how do we do that? How do we maintain the awe and endless possibilities that are there in the beginning? How do we sustain that throughout the course of our relationships with people? How do we keep the feeling of that fresh lemonade from the beginning of the glass to the end?