reunion

9 years ago I was 19 years old over Memorial Day weekend. My roommates and I decided to hit the road for a weekend trip to Victoria B.C. We felt a lot like grown-ups, so why not take a mini-break getaway like grown-ups do? We pooled our money and crammed into a smoky room at the Days Inn above the bar. We took the ferry, wandered the streets, got into minor trouble and had a great time. Every year since, we have celebrated our friendships with a day or a weekend event. Camping, concerts and cabins. Nowadays, it's the only time I see some of these friends during a year. Small babies are allowed to come along and there is more talk about groceries and child development than about chasing boys. No one has danced on a sofa or flashed the neighbors for years. Oh wait, someone did actually flash the neighbors this year too.

Every year, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for these women who are still a part of my life. Yakima, Bellingham, Tacoma, Portland, Wenatchee, San Diego and New York have taken most of my girls away from my everyday life. This makes me sad, and I mourn the loss of the best community of friends that I have ever had. Luckily though, we still hold together even if our visits comes in fits and spurts instead of consistently over a hot pan of brownies on Sunday evenings as college sophomores.

I don't have much to offer in the way of marriage advice, childbirth stories or home ownership tips and I feel a little like I've been lapped. This doesn't seem to matter though. I could just show up and sit quietly the entire weekend, and feel like I have been understood completely. We sit and drink coffee and talk for 36 hours straight, yet it barely matters what we are talking about. It matters more that we are sitting next to each other. I know that most people don't have friends like this. A tribe like this. An urban family. How do I deserve this blessing?

As we all seem to be getting older and growing in different ways we are still very much connected. Not just through the fun memories and the silly stories, although those would be enough to sustain us if they had to. Somehow, we are still making new memories and working to know each other's souls in the present. Unless we could all live on the same street again, there is nothing else I could ask for in my friends.