Ode to friendship

My reunion this past weekend was just as incredible as I expected it to be!

The fam dropped me off at my friend Cristina’s house and after visiting with the husbands and children for a while she and I hit the road for Austin.  We arrived right on time for our lunch date, and chose a table out on the empty patio because we knew with six women all talking at the same time we would probably get loud. J We ordered Mimosas and chatted while we waited for the others to join us.  Dianne, our mommy-to-be, was the first to get there and Jenny, our starlet arrived next.  Rachel and Ashley (who rode together) came soon after and our group was complete.  Well, not entirely complete, actually.  Sadly, there was one special lady missing from our group.  Our girl Rosie lives in Hawaii and between having a newborn (and her other four girls and stepchildren), work obligations, and trying to finish up her dissertation, she was unable to make the trip.  Yes, we think she is Superwoman too!  We missed her dearly and talked about how much we loved her so we wouldn’t miss her so much!

 

Over lunch we started catching up on each other’s lives.  The last time we had all gotten together was for Dianne’s wedding in January of 2011 so as you can imagine, we had a lot of catching up to do! 

Dianne, Ashley, Cristina, Rachel, Jenny

I ordered a grilled portobella sandwich on whole wheat toast.  The food was yummy but the drinks and the company were even better! 

After lunch we decided to head over to Dianne’s house, but first made a grocery store run for snacks and vino.  We wanted to be well stocked! 

When we got there, we got to re-meet her hubs, Brian.  I say re-meet because although we met Brian at the wedding, the bride and groom were busy entertaining all of their guests that night so we hadn’t gotten to chat with him that much.  Di and Bri’s house was soooo cute!  Almost as cute as being able to call them “Di and Bri”!  It was the perfect size house, with a nice layout and color scheme with lots of grays, and blues.  My favorite part was how they managed to blend their modern color palette and décor with homey touches that really made their home feel so cozy and comforting!  I expected nothing less, though, coming from my precious Diane!

We sat around and chatted for the next NINE hours.  Yes, that’s right, I said nine hours.  We started out snacking on some wine, grapes, strawberries, cheese and crackers, sliced salami, hummus and some dill dip and ended the night with pizza and chocolate chip cookies.  We also, between the five of us, finished off quite a few bottles of wine!  Our house-Sommelier, Rachel, had brought three bottles of red with her and there were also some great Chardonnays around the table.  Since Dianne couldn’t drink, the rest of us definitely made up for it and drank enough for her and us! J 

It was a magnificent night of camaraderie, sitting around the table eating, drinking, and spilling our guts.  It was like a good therapy session, only better because it was free and a lot more fun!  What I love most about this group of women is that although we are all so different, at the heart of it all we are alike in many ways, and that’s what bonds us together.  I feel like our friendship is like a metaphor for life.  We are all from different places, different backgrounds, different races, we hardly ever see or talk to each other, we are technically not a part of each other’s daily lives…and yet IT WORKS because we focus on our similarities and not our differences. 

Our main commonality is the love that we have for each other and the desire to maintain that love, and our friendship, in spite of those differences.  We all look forward to our get-togethers (although they don’t happen that often), and when we come together we pick up from where we left off, as if no time or space had ever come between us.  When we come together, we are, for that time, transformed.  We become the same young girls we were when we all met, before jobs, husbands, and babies.  We act silly and laugh, and sometimes even cry, like schoolgirls.  And yet, above all else, what makes our friendship thrive is that we have been able to evolve together, and cultivate our friendship through it all: young loves and heartbreaks, courtships and marriages, new jobs and crazy career changes and, of course, the joys of babies and motherhood. 

We support each other and empower each other, but are always honest with each other and tell each other like it is.  The history we share allows us to impart honest wisdom and advice that we may not feel comfortable enough to share in our other friendships.  I can really be myself with these girls.  They know all of my quirks and perks and love me anyway!  I know that no matter where I go or what I do, I will always have these ladies by my side, even if it is (mostly) in spirit!  I foresee many more yearly reunions and can see myself celebrating our children’s Quinceañeras, Sweet Sixteen’s, High School graduations, college graduations, marriages and grandbabies together! 

More than friends, we are family, we are sisters, and I treasure these girls!  I am truly blessed to have them and thank God for the day I decided (on a whim) to go study abroad in Mexico City!  Along with the opportunity to improve my Spanish, celebrate my heritage, and sightsee, in Mexico I gained lifetime friendships.

After we were all talked out and tuckered out, and our bellies were full, we came back to the hotel, talked for a bit longer and went to sleep.  We all slept late the next morning (none of our babies around to wake us up early), and met for lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  We figured it was fitting, and enjoyed some food that transported us back to our time in el DF.  We enjoyed our lunch, said our goodbyes and each went our separate ways, down different roads.

Cris and I came home and after my family arrived, we spent some time at her house with her family, and her parents.  We ate a delicious dinner, and ended the night Samba-ing in her kitchen.  My favorite things in life, all in one weekend: family, friends, food, and dancing…it really doesn’t get much better than that!

This is my ode to friendship and the superb ladies that love me, support me, encourage me, enrich my life and make it even more delightful.

May our roads lead us back together again soon.