Running into an old friend and picking up right where you left off is proof some things don’t need maintenance.

Some friendships run on maintenance and some do not, and the difference is not about effort or loyalty. With a few people the shared ground is deep enough that a year of silence changes nothing about it. You pick up at the exact point you stopped, same jokes, same shorthand, no apology tour required.

Stop reading distance as damage. The friend you have not spoken to since last summer is probably not offended, just busy. Message one of them this week with no preamble and no explanation for the gap. Those friendships do not need feeding, but they do need occasionally being used.