There’s nothing like getting together with close friends who knew you back in the day when you were young and thought you knew everything. And that’s exactly what I did this weekend.
My core group of college friends had our annual reunion. Several of us live here in Nashville, but others made the trek from Memphis, Denver and Mobile. As I told one of them, all of us just “get” each other. These are my people.
Friends since college, we’ve supported each other during marriages, births, divorces, relocations, career promotions and set backs, and death of parents. We’re a fiercely loyal tribe; we don’t always see eye-to-eye but we respect and love each other anyway.
Reunions conjure the image of reminiscing about the “good old days,” as if the life being lived today is void of anything worthwhile. Our weekend was anything but that. While we looked at photo albums circa 1982 (The leg warmers! The perms!) we were too busy creating new memories to spend time living in the past. If I had to describe the weekend in one phrase it would be “side-splitting.” There were times I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breath. It was just what I needed and perfect for my soul. A mental and emotional health break.
I think it’s important to stay connected with those special, core “back in the day” friends. They’re the people who know about the mistakes and the missteps, the youthful pranks and indiscretions. And they keep those secrets inside the circle (thankfully). They’re the people with whom I came of age and they helped mold who I am today.
Besides hubs and my family, these are the people with whom I want to grow old. While we have 35 years of history together…
it feels like we’re just getting started.
Me and my peeps. I’m in the middle.
482gr8 