Texting an old friend after two years feels weird for about four seconds. Then it usually doesn’t.

The dread is front-loaded and brief. Almost all of the discomfort lives in the moment before sending, and it is built from imagining a reaction that rarely happens. What usually happens is that the other person is pleased and slightly relieved, since they had the same hesitation. The weirdness has no staying power once there is a reply.

Pick a name you have been meaning to message and send something this week. Do not open with an explanation of the gap. Ask about one specific thing you remember, which gives them something easy to answer.