Friends

I had the pleasure of having dinner with one of my oldest and dearest friends tonight. This particular friend dates back to my 2nd year of college. Only my middle school & high school BFF, Jen, and my husband oh and my friend Meredith from freshman year predate her. When she mentioned that we've known each other for 15 years, I couldn't quite believe it. We met in a history class at W&M and formed a close friendship based on sharing crazy roommate stories. We had some doozies.

She started a new job recently and we hadn't managed to catch up in almost a year. Luckily she is one of those friends who whether its been 5 days or 5 months, you pick up exactly where you left off. We had a great dinner in Old Town on the water at Mai Thai. Our talk, our ability to just slip right back into familiar conversation got me thinking on the way home. I may not be one of those people who seems to collect a bunch of friends. Still, those I have seem to stick. I am pretty protective of my innermost self and thus my inner circle is tight and not easily penetrated.

I've known my oldest friend who really is more like a sister we know so much about one another in the 6th grade. We weren't close in 6th and 7th grade because there was a third friend who was sort of the queen bee who had a wedge in between us. Once we realized she was an idiot, we bonded and the rest as they say is history. Jen is the kind of friend who you just love. She always seemed more mature and responsible than most. We became really close in high school and though now our lives are so different and geographically we are not close, I still count her as one of my dearest friends. She's the one I would call in the middle of the night to come help me in a crisis. We were in each others weddings. She was there for the birth of my children and I was there for hers. Literally there, in the room! I almost didn't make it to her 2nd one (Ella was young, we'd been through the first one, work was busy). We had decided to wait until she was out of the hospital to go and visit, I just could NOT not go so at the last minute decided to rush to the hospital - 4 HOURS away! I made it just as they were inducing her. I can still remember the look on her face when I walked through the door and the tears that ran down her cheeks as she murmured something about mine being the face she most wanted to see. We are comforted and feel safe in each others presence. We each have two young kids and we live about 3 hours apart, so it is very hard to spend a lot of quality time together. However, I know there will come a time when our lives settle down and once again we will find time for each other.

Then there is Meredith. I met her freshman year and remember being blown away by how smart and informed she was, but also how humble and genuine. We remained friends all through college and though she is now in Indiana we routinely email and keep up with each others lives. We bond over familial issues that are scarily similar and our mutual disdain for the current administration! Oh and a love of cherry slurpees! I am so glad we never lost touch.

Barbo who I hired while still at W&M thinking wow she seems like a fun girl! Boy, I had no idea. I have never laughed as hard as I do with her. We've been friends since 1993 and we still hang out, travel together and "talk" via im and email all the time. We have been there for each other though a lot of crap and a lot of great times. She honored us by having Ella in her wedding. Her husband is amazing too!

Then there's KK. We met through a mutual friend of our husbands while I was still in graduate school (1997 I think) and we've since ditched him and formed our own friendship. Wow, its been 10 years! We see each other at a minimum every other week when we go indulge ourselves with cheap pedicures and dinner out. It is a routine we started in about 2001 I think. We are like clockwork. We meet, we talk about everything - life, other friends, work, the kids, husbands, politics - you name it and we've probably covered it. I think these nights are like my therapy. I relish the hours of just being a girl again, knowing my kids are home and tucked in bed, and being able to have a 2 hour uninterrupted conversation. We travel together, we hang out on the deck drinking too much wine, we laugh, we cry, we are stupid and we often get strange looks from our husbands but we don't care ;)

There is SumSumSummertime! A woman who is so much fun to know and such a caring, loving friend. I met her as well through a mutual friend who we have since kind of lost touch with but we kept each other. Funny how often that happens. Along with her came this wonderful strong circle of her friends who I am SO happy and lucky to have infiltrated. We claim to have a book club, though we don't seem to do a lot of reading! More likely you'll catch us with great noshes and cocktails just chatting up a storm!

The strange, or maybe not so strange, thing about these women that I love so much is that they are all so distinct and so different. There is no one personality type. They are all smart and quirky and genuinely who they are. If they have anything in common it would be their distinct lack of pretense and a genuineness in how they live their lives. They all have their priorities in order. They all have there moments of OMG I AM FREAKING out (me included). They all rally around when someone is in need. I know that I am extremely fortunate to know each of them! So this goes out to all my girlies. I am so happy you are all in my life!