Old friends

Every summer a group of high school girlfriends and I get together for a weekend sleepover. No husbands, partners or children allowed (unless said children are breastfeeding). Just the five of us. And a lot of food.

We've been doing this annually since 2002, and it's one of my favorite summer traditions. It's funny to look back and see how our lives have changed. From that first summer when we got hammered and flirted with boys at Maggie's northern Minnesota cabin. To this year, when we passed around 6 week old Milo and watched Alyssa get fitted for her wedding dress. I'm always amazed by how much our lives can change in just one year.

I've been friends with these girls for almost 15 years (Alyssa will argue since 6th grade, but I'm not convinced). They knew me when I had glasses and braces, when I was all legs and no coordination. They knew me before I had kissed a boy or gone on a first date. Together, we played sports, went to prom, applied to colleges and got our hearts broken. Together, we navigated the rocky world of adolesence and somehow managed to make it out the other side.

We don't talk everyday. And we're lucky to see each other more than a few times a year. But in many ways our friendship is even stronger than it was back then. It's just effortless. While I will never take them for granted, I love knowing that they are always there for me. And visa versa.