Now that the kids were back in school, I was ELATED to make a special trip to the Austin area for a long-awaited reunion with my childhood besties - Amanda, Dana, and Katherine! The last time we were together was the celebration of our 40th birthday, five years ago. We couldn't believe so much time had passed, and yet - just like always - it immediately felt like no time at all.
When we first arrived, the nonstop chatter was excited and rushed in an attempt to cover so much ground in our relatively short time together. Dana, ever the practical one, whipped out her iPhone and began quizzing us on all the topics we needed to make sure to discuss throughout our weekend outing. Kids, husbands, schools, jobs, extended families, challenges, joys...no subject was off limits as we began the task of truly catching up.
In the days and weeks leading up to our girls' weekend, amidst the excitement I was admittedly feeling some anxious feelings and trepidation. Let's be honest, the world has shifted and changed in so many unexpected ways in the last few years. Today's societal challenges have divided brother versus brother and bestie versus bestie, bringing strife and discord into the closest and most unified of families and friend groups. Mine have been no exception. Satan has been hard at work pitting us against each other in ways that go far beyond the stereotypical religion and politics. With fear and uncertainty the theme of the day, we have all retreated to our proverbial corners and put up our fists to defend our position and persuade others to our "side", all under the guise of taking care of one another and doing the right thing. To say I have been disappointed in the not-so-subtle shift of our nation - our WORLD - is a profound understatement.
That being said, I was understandably nervous about reuniting with my dear friends and began internally coaching myself to filter my thoughts and speech in a desire to keep the peace and avoid difficult conversations that could go south, as many discussions these days do. But to my delight and, honestly, a bit of surprise, it was mere moments into our visit that we all realized there wouldn't need to be any such filtering or peace-keeping. While we all have our own unique life experiences and views which shape our opinions, my besties and I were on the same page all along.
These girls... what can I say? The older I get, the more I realize what a true blessing it is to have their encouragement, wisdom, shared experiences, and everything else that comes with such lasting and genuine friendship. We fell right into step with hugs and laughter and just as easily into meaningful stories and sentiment. We commiserated our experiences with aging while tapping into our youthful side with an hours-long session of fumbling around TikTok. We soaked in the gorgeous weather with some long walks, headed out into the city for a little shopping, and soaked in the enjoyment from delicious food. It was a weekend oasis for our decades-long friendship, renewing our hearts and souls of the bountiful joy that life has to offer and that God has chosen to bless us with. Blessed beyond measure!
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