Last night I met up with 3 of my girlfriends that I have been friends with since grade school! It was one of the most fun, most relaxing and most wonderful times I’ve had out in a long time!
As I sat there with these 3 ladies – Faye, Alexia and Sheri – I couldn’t help but feel like I was 16 years old again at Barrington High School eating lunch in the cafeteria. We laughed. We gossiped. We were serious. We talked about boys (this time boys being our sons and our husbands). We just were like schoolgirls again, catching up and having fun. Of course… there were a few BIG differences… we are all mothers (11 kids between us) and we were drinking. Not to mention how funny it was that we kept checking our phones to make sure our kids and guys were doing OK!
As we were paying last night and saying good-bye, we all kept saying, “We need to do this more often!” Being together last night was like going back in time. There’s a history between us all. We know who we all had crushes on. We know who we all went to the prom with. We remember birthday parties and the houses we grew up in and each others families. We remember silly stories about each other (Faye reminded me of the time I put love notes in Jack Lovell’s locker and didn’t sign them b/c I was afraid he wouldn’t like me!) and when we really needed each other in our corner. Being with them last night made me remember so many good times from my childhood and really made me look at my sons (in grade school now) and think… God, I hope they have this with friends.
I called my mom on the way home last night and I said to her, “You know why I loved being out with the girls? Because you don’t have to impress anyone about where you live, about the car you drive, about the clothes you wear or the job you have. We all just love each other. We’ve known each for that long and it just doesn’t matter. It’s easy.”
I’ve been really bad over the last 20 (ahem…) years staying connected to many of my grade school friends. Life just takes over. I became a wife. I became a mom. I started running my business. I’m lucky if I get to watch TV at night or read a book or just sit and hang with my husband! Life is crazy, but it made me realize… I need to carve out the time to do this. It felt so good. It felt like I drank from the Fountain of Youth. I left with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.
It’s important to find those friends who helped shape you into who you are today… find them on Facebook, call their parents, google their name… go back in time and find the girls or guys who were your anchors in school. The ones who… just got you and you had a blast with.
I simply can’t believe how crazy it was sitting down with Faye, Alexia and Sheri last night… it was like 20 years hadn’t gone by at all.
It was very special.
Bold and Fearless… this was my #3 and #4… MAKE THE TIME TO CONNECT WITH OLD FRIENDS.
