The Lucky Ones

Remember back in high school when you were positive that you were going to stay BFF with your group of girl friends? You were positive you were going to marry your high school sweetheart… When I was in high school my friends and I dreamed of growing up, getting married, and living in the same neighborhood.

While that dream didn’t exactly pan out, our friendship has remained strong. And 5 of the 6 of us actually went on and married our high school boyfriends. Still working on the neighborhood though.

In the mean time we’ve set aside Labor Day Weekend as a time when we get together with our families for a weekend of fun. It started in 2002 as the 6 of us and our husbands. We all had such a great time that we thought we should do it again, and thus a tradition was born. Labor Day weekend seemed perfect b/c it is a guaranteed 3 day weekend for all of us and it isn’t a holiday filled with family obligations.

6 years and 13 (thirteen!!!) children later, we are all looking forward to another weekend together beginning tomorrow.

While we’ve changed locations, some things are constant.

• Late nights talking
• Settlers (Board Game)
• Guys Poker Nights
• a trip to a local ice cream shop

• playtime at a local park
• torturing our kids with group portraits

While it isn’t exactly a relaxing get away with 12 adults and 13 children (each 4 or under) all staying under the same roof. It’s truly refreshing. There’s no set schedule. We sit around talk, play games, hold kids and have fun. We divide up the meals so each family prepares a different meal for everyone and we all bring snacks and drinks to share.

There’s something truly rare about this group of friends. We’ve known each other for over 15 years. And while our conversations have changed from “how will I know which way to tilt my head when I get my first kiss” to “does is hurt as bad to nurse the second time around”, there’s something special about a friendship that has the memories of the past while still being in the present. While we have some great memories that we enjoy laughing about, we have more than that. We are friends in the present. We talk about our roles as wives and mothers. While we don’t' all see eye to eye on everything, we have a mutual respect and admiration for each other. I always leave our times together thinking, “there’s a reason why we’ve been friends for so long."

I know we are the lucky ones and I am so very thankful.

Each year I keep saying I want to make a scrapbook of our weekend get together’s, in the mean time I’m posting this on Kristen’s Sincerely Fro' Me to You Carnival.