Sunday, June 14, 2009

High School at 40.

Lunch with high school girlfriends.

My best friend from high school, Chris Teeslink, came in town this week. I hadn't seen her in 19 years. So, I invited some of our other friends from high school and put together a lunch. It was so good to see all of them. Some of them I hadn't seen in 23 years. They are all wonderful women. It was fun to see how we had, and hadn't changed.

Becoming mothers changed every one of us, and all of us are in different stages of motherhood. Chris is a new mother to a five month old son that is just darling, while Laura is the mother of a young man in his mid twenties that has a son of his own. She seemed to be over joyed with being a grandmother.

Some of my friends are seasoned career women Like Kim, and some have recently graduated and started careers like Jill and Laura who are now teachers. Some enjoy being self-employed like Heather, Crystal, Diane. Some of us are perfectly content to employ all of our energies in the title of Mother... for now, like Rebbecca, me, and Chris who has taken a hiatus from nursing to attend to her new son.

I think we are all somewhat the same. After all, we carry our past in our present, and we are all bound by our childhoods and those friendships. I could see the in their eyes, smiles, and laughter the beautiful young girls who were my childhood friends.....All of their faces just slightly weathered by life.

We all have had our challenges in life, some with heavier burdens than others, but I felt like all of us radiated love and happiness. We haven't been broken. And, at this stage of life, our 40's, we are all focused on our inner beauty. Our focus now is on love, health, and happiness, and not so much on our hair or clothes. I found each woman absolutely beautiful....more beautiful than ever. I soaked in the richness of the difference, likeness, and absolute uniqueness of each individual. What lovely women these girls have grown to be.

What a wonderful way to spend a few hours. I only wish I had the opportunity to see them more often, especially my friend Chris who now lives in Arizona. She was always such a giving, loving friend. There is still nothing like her hug. I missed her terribly, but I'm so grateful she is so happy now.

Thank you ladies for a wonderful lunch.
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Me, and my best friend from high school, Chris Teeslink
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Heather, Becca, and Diane
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Crystal, and Kim
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Jill, Chris, me, Laura
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3 comments:

Heather Gibb said...

That was alot of fun and so good to see everyone and catch up!!! Thanks for putting it together!

PS
You still have me in the front of the photo.....just kidding. I look much better in the one you only see 1/8 of me!!

Brooke G said...

That is a beautiful tribute to your friends! One great thing about friends, is they mean more and more to me the older I get. Even though I don't see many often, I always am grateful to the ones that I can lean on at the moment!

Brynne said...

That was awesome to read. Friends are an amazing thing to have. I love the friends you can get together with and it feels like you didn't miss a beat. Sounds like it was great.