Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Blast from the past

This past weekend several (but, unfortunately, not all) of my high school friends got together. A once annual tradition, we used to gather at various locations around the Northeast.....actually, going back even further than that....every summer before school resumed, we would have lunch at a restaurant on the beach, catching up (even though we had usually spent quite a bit of time together over the summer) and getting ready for the school year to come. We all went our separate ways after college but started a tradition of gathering together every Veteran's Day weekend. There are too many memories from those trips to possibly write about but the ones that stand out are the marathon Pokemon Puzzle League tournaments (don't laugh, it's a fantastic game) and, of course, who can forget the trip that involved no running water, so that by the end of the weekend (when we took the most pictures) we were all rather greasy.

Pulling up to the house of my good friend, the memories came flooding back. The last time I had been at that house was probably high school, or maybe summer break during my college years. But I could so clearly remember playing flashlight tag in the backyard (you can laugh at that one, we really were that dorky in high school), baking cookies in the kitchen, gathering in the family room one memorable New Year's eve.....What amazed me most was how quickly, how easily, we all fell into our conversations. There wasn't even much catching up, not because I'm the best person at keeping in touch (because, I'll admit, I'm not) but because that's how easy and comfortable we all are together. We've known each other for years now, and although there is distance between us, some things never change......including the bonds of friendship that were formed years ago, and strengthened over time.

We took more pictures of the babies then of ourselves, so here are a few. Note that Aliza is the only girl, and she is just chilling out while two of the boys cry next to her.

And here she is with her Auntie Nessa, who she clearly adores, as evidenced by the many grins Aliza gave her:

A few of us (including me) had left by the time this picture was taken, running off to a birthday party for my one year old cousin, but here are some of my dear friends:

And one last one, where the boys aren't crying quite so hard:



4 comments:

vek said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that she was just taking it all in while the boys really wanted their mommies. So precious.

It was a great day! It is always like we have never been apart. That is such a blessing and a treasure to me.

Love!
(Auntie) Nessa

Kelli said...

The older I get, the more I realize how important and precious the friendships I've had with "my high school girls" are. It's always a comfort to sit down with people who literally know where you're coming from.

JaxMom said...

It is so nice to have those who can finish your thought, knew you through braces, first kisses, etc.

My best friend just had her 5th baby. And I know by the tone of her voice when she is pregnant, and sensed the day she had her baby - from 200 miles away.

Uncanny and awesome how those bonds can last forever.

Glad you had a good visit.

p.s. The pic of the three boys on my page header his Jax (IL), Kyle (CA) from KTP, and our now Bostonian friends' son Noah (NYC/MA) from a similar reunion.

Dianna said...

It was so great to see you and to meet Aliza! I love that our kids are so close in age...we are going to be able to share all those milestone moments together (And cry together at those hard times too!)

We are a lucky bunch thats for sure...always here for each other despite the distance! I'll call ya when we are next in CT...we'll definately be there for the Christmas week too!

Luv, Dianna