Sauna Friends

Kolby’s message came out of the blue:

“Want to hit up the sauna tomorrow around 430-5ish?”

For years, I hadn’t seen Kolby—not in any real, regular way. Not since high school really, over a decade ago. Life spun us off in different directions, a pair of once-close friends who had come to drift along distant orbits.

So when Kolby asked if I’d like to join him at the sauna, I almost said no. 

Not out of disinterest, but perhaps out of habit. The routines of solitude have a way of settling into their own grooves, and I could easily think of a dozen reasons to pass. 

But something stopped me, a quiet nudge reminding me that chances to reconnect like this don’t come around every day. Besides—the notion of stepping into that thick, dry, soothing sauna warmth struck me as just the thing…

A welcome restorative in the face of fading fall and encroaching winter.

“Well that sounds lovely. Whereabouts?”, I replied.

The next day, our first session threw me into the deep end. 

The swim team training in the nearby pool was noisily splashing through their laps while the scent of clean, crisp, dry wood filled the air—my body reacting to the all-encompassing warmth as if thawing from a long winter freeze. 

The gold of my still-healing nose piercing warmed and stung, a reminder that even the smallest part of me was yielding to the heat, softening, melting.

We’ve since turned these sauna sessions into a weekly habit, and week by week, that sense of warmth has deepened. The sauna’s heat loosens my muscles, granting relief from the stiffness and soreness I’ve collected over the years.

As teenagers, Kolby and I hung out often—smoking joints in his backyard, doing battle in impromptu street hockey games, or putting off homework to play the latest EA Sports NHL game. When we weren’t shooting pucks, gaming, or satisfying our munchies, we’d play table tennis with Pink Floyd as our soundtrack, the air hazy.

Now, our time together meanders differently. We speak of deeper, more meaningful things, and we find connection through the adventures we had during our years apart.

In that close, arid heat, connecting feels easy—to bridge and close the gaps in friendship that had quietly appeared and stretched out over the years. 

Week by week, I can feel myself sinking deeper, not only into the quiet heat but back into this friendship, as if no time had passed at all.

How funny, how remarkable that the simple ritual of a weekly sauna—with the sting of warming gold, the soft sheen of sweat, and a woody scent in the air—can hold space not only for our tired bodies, but for two friends returning to their orbits.

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander

(AKA: Wiz, WOW, and The Wizard of Wordcraft)