Friday Favorite: Old Friends
It’s that time of the year to plan my yearly get together with my college girlfriends. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years now that we’ve known each other, we all met our freshman year of college way back in 1994. We get together each year, sometimes we meet at one of our homes, sometimes we rent a cabin somewhere, often we all meet up back Cincinnati, OH where we went to school. One of our friends lives in Cincy and we all stay at her home. It’s a weekend filled with laughter, tears and lots of catching up.
I’m reading a book by Shauna Niequist right now and came across this quote yesterday – it’s so fitting for this occasion “When we’re together, we do what old friends do: we talk about the past we share and fill each other in on the daily present we no longer share. These women’s faces hold oceans of memories for me, stories no one else would ever believe. They’re like adolescent time capsules, lives lived long ago, and they’re also sounding boards and fellow travelers in similar phases of life.”
We always enjoy lots of good food and do crazy things. We’ve rented surreys to ride on the riverbank, we went on a duck boat tour, we walk, we laugh, and we thoroughly enjoy our time together catching up.
These ladies have been in my life for more than half of it, we have celebrated many weddings and births and cried at the loss of a husband and sickness of children. We have managed to reunite at least once each year for the past twenty years. Some years it’s all six of us, sometimes only four, but it’s always a wonderful weekend. In October I will be heading to Cincinnati to meet up with my friends, it’s good to have the date on the calendar for something to look forward to.
Do you have any old friends that you get together with on a regular basis?
My best friend from high school vacations in Stonington in the fall. We get together for a couple of days and it is like we’ve never been separated. We spent 3 days together in June at our 50th reunion and it really felt like the old days. Good times.
to Jennifer Fisk's comment
Susy, I really haven’t staid in contact with high school or college friends. I was one of those guys that was there but just an un noticed loner. That wasn’t a bad thing or a disappointing thing, it was just how I was back then. I’ve traveled through many years of life with many different seasons of life along the journey. Each had friends during those seasons that were good friends but none that were long term lasting. You are the uncommonly blessed one with not just one long term friend but many. That’s very unusual in our current culture. But then I would expect nothing less from you because you don’t follow our culture mold. It’s why I like reading your blog and following your life activities. Inspiration from the blog keeps my life course on track.
Today, however, is a season of life with many friendships but still they come and go. Our society is not one that has long term roots. The urban areas like where I live has turned over three times in the 30 years that I’ve live here. I’ve watched three generations of kids grow up and leave home. When one generation of kids are gone, then the houses were sold to young parents and another generation of kids fill the neighborhood with laughter. Intentions are always high when neighborhood friends move but once they are gone new friends are made and contact is usually lost with the old friends. It’s just the way life is today.
Have a great planning time with old (not age) friends day.
to Nebraska Dave's comment
First…look at the first picture, the girl on the left has a t-shirt with dancing Virgin Islers on it (if you could read beneath the dancers it says “We be jammin’, Mon!”) I got that same t-shirt on a cruise with my husband about 17 years ago. I wore it until it was nothing more than a rag (which is what it now is!) Tell your friend she has excellent taste in t-shirts as well as is in friends.
And yes, I have a friend from college that lives four hours away. We meet once or twice a year at a mid-point. We meet for breakfast, apologize to our waitress, and sit there talking for about three hours until the lunch crowd comes in. Then we wonder around a mall or something talking, laughing and catching up. Next we go for a late lunch, apologize to the waitress, and sit talking for another three hours then I drive two hours to the north to get home, she heads south for two hours – both happier and lighter-hearted than when we arrived. I remember the first time we re-united the summer after college KNOWING that it would always be this way with her. That we could go for months and months with no contact, then pick up right where we left off. What a blessing to have women like this in my life! And the best part is, I’m meeting her in Ft. Wayne on Friday!
Hope you have a great reunion!
to Tonya's comment