The Beauty of Old Friends

Yesterday was my "Bosom Friend's Birthday".....we decided that we could get together with some of our friends from our youth to celebrate her special day....and so....because two of the women live in Eatonville and University Place, we decided to meet at a place in Tacoma to "meet in the middle".

And so, 5 women who were friends when they were in High School in Arlington got together.

What was so beautiful was that although it felt like time had passed....we were obviously older....but there was a ease to being together.....there was a beauty....it was like life had happened, time had passed....but our hearts had stayed connected in the way it only can when you've begun your life with a group of people.

We talked....we remembered things....we shared our lives and our stories.....we were Kindred Spirits.

And so...there we were....a Mom who has homeschooled her 4 children.....a Pastor's Wife with 5 beautiful children and dogs.....a Social Worker with 2 gorgeous darlings....a Middle School Teacher with grandbabies.....and a Jelly Maker with goats, dogs and dreams.....what I loved most was that I believe that we are all adored by our loving husbands.

What I know is that I am blessed by the friends I have in my life.....and I am blessed beyond measure by the girls who stood by me and loved me when I was a chubby girl who was a bundle of insecurity and a quirky sense of humor.

And so....Sharanne, Bonni, Cara & Kim....I am blessed to have had you by my side in my teens....and I am blessed to know you now.  Thank you for being part of what made me who I am today.

And as the Birthday Girl and I drove to the ferry, with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" playing on the radio, and we talked of the serendipitous moments that led to her dating her husband of 20 years this June, I smiled and said a silent prayer of thanksgiving for this girl who has stood by me through all the serendipitous and not so serendipitous moments that have guided my life....I can count my good friends on both hands.....and for that I am eternally grateful.