4 More Days!!!

Yes, 4 more days until Beffers gets married. It's finally hitting me I guess. I knew it was coming all along, but I got preoccupied with some things the past few months. It's all sinking in now, and I just can't describe how happy I am for her.

When we were in high school, we used to joke about us all being friends when we were grown up and married. We laughed about how our kids would grow up together. We talked about weddings and such and about how we would look at our 10 year reunion. The sad part is that I saw all of our jokes and talks about that stuff as daydreams. It was something I just couldn't fathom at the time. I was in high school and couldn't wrap my mind around what life would be like when I was older and married. My immature mind saw me having a family but then going to the beach with my friends on the weekends while we listened to NSYNC on the radio. I just couldn't grasp what we were talking about.

I went off to college and still couldn't see that in my near future. I had a glimpse of it, but a very immature one. Plus, at college I had distanced myself, both physically and emotionally, from those girls that knew me best. I couldn't fathom a friendship that could last through college, let alone last for the rest of my life. I thought I was losing my Gdale girls. I was never around, and, well, you all know how I hate to actually talk on the phone. I thought they would forget about me, but I was happily suprised when they wouldn't give up. I started getting calls about this guy named Jeremy. I started hearing from Beth and Caroline about how he was Caroline's perfect match. I was so thrilled for her when he proposed, but although it may sound so extremely selfish, I was more excited when she asked me to be a bridesmaid. That call and that card...they were the lasso that brought me back to my girls.

I know I wasn't the perfect bridesmaid or friend back then. I still kick myself in the butt for not being there for her more during that time. It was the start of our rekindled friendship. It led to me meeting Josh and to our marriage. It led to many more girls' nights, Christmas parties, beach trips, shopping extravaganzas, and matching PJ's. We have all grown up so much, and yet our friendship has adapted to it all and remained strong. Even though we aren't in high school anymore, even though we aren't all in the same town anymore, even though we have all changed at least a little bit...our friendship is stronger now that it ever was. And now I can see it...I can see us being friends when we are all married and have children (heck, we're almost there). The reason I couldn't see it back in high school is fairly simple. I was right that it was a daydream that our high school friendship would survive through our married lives. The reason I couldn't see us being friends as adults while we were in high school is because our friendship back then was nothing compared to what it is now. Our friendship now is so much stronger, I feel so much closer to these girls, and now I can't imagine being married and having children without having them as my friends. They mean the world to me.

So Caroline and Beth, here's to all of us being married friends...only 4 more days!