I am one of those people who makes friends and keeps them. We may not see each other for years and years and years, but when we do, it's like no time has gone by.I was the first of my friends to move away. Born and raised on Long Island, we moved to North Carolina when I was 27 and we're still here. Due to finances and just...life...we rarely were able to go back and visit anyone, but in the last few years, I've been blessed with being able to reconnect with some of my girls and we are planning a weekend together in March.
So here's the funny thing - once plans got put into motion, I realized that we are the same people we were in elementary, middle and high school. We've all gone on to lead very different lives with different experiences and yet as soon as we started group texting and chatting, it was so familiar and wonderful that it filled my heart with joy! At our core we are snarky, sweet, loud, hysterical, compassionate and strong. We've all had our struggles - our highs and lows - and we're still here to smile about it.
I think of some of the great female friendships - the sassy girls of "Sex and the City",
the ladies from "Waiting to Exhale" or "Steel Magnolias", and the childhood friends like in "Now and Then". There is something to be said about people who have known you through the good and the bad, the ups and downs and that you can totally be yourself with - mainly because they'll call you out on it if you're not!They are meeting me in Florida for a signing event and we have four days together. It was humbling that seemingly out of the blue, some of my oldest friends wanted to come and show their support of me. And it's at a time in my life where I so desperately need a little R&R and girl time.
So what about you? Are you still friends with the ones you had when you were younger? Do you still get together? And what's your ideal place for a girls weekend?
I am. Most of the kids I grew up with we went from Kindergarten through High School Graduations with +/- a few. We have an alumni site on fb. We all still stay in touch. As you know I just lost my oldest and dearest friend. It's so much fun reconnecting with old friends.
ReplyDeleteYes it is. And we are going to have fun finally getting to connect in Vegas!
DeleteLove this post! I sill have two good friends I met in 7th grade. Best girls' weekend is anywhere with a spa.
ReplyDeleteI have lived so many places, Sweden, Texas, Colorado, California, Washington State--and I still stay in touch with several friends I made in each location. My best friend from elementary school and I are still close. I find that the friends I end up keeping are the ones who don't mind that we don't chat every day, but when we see each other we pick up the conversation where we left of last time without trouble--whether that was yesterday or years ago. :-)
ReplyDeleteI've recently connected with some friends from childhood through facebook. Complain as much as you want about the Internet, it's a valuable tool when it comes to finding and keeping old friends.
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