in every season: let's hear it for the girls

This past weekend I had the absolute joy of going to my dear friend Rachel's wedding. As I was flying back to Florida at the end of the weekend, I reflected on my friendship with Rachel and our group of girlfriends. I was reminded of the time Rachel came to New Orleans to run the Mardi Gras Half Marathon with me. As I was introducing her to people, my friend Tori said, "Oooooh, you're one of the girls!" The way she said it made it clear that no further introduction was needed, because anyone who knows me knows who 'the girls' are. These 5 women have been in my life for years, many for decades (am I that old for that to even be possible?!), and whenever I'm in Richmond, they top the list of people I must see, right up there with my parents and Katherine (when she's actually in America, that is!).

me and Emily at one of our annual Christmas dinners, December '08

First, there's Emily. Emily and I met in first grade, although as I remember it, we didn't actually become friends until second grade, when we were the only two girls in our class who had been in the same class before. All that I remember about our friendship then was that we liked that our initials both spelled words- RAT and EAT- and one time she rode home on the bus with me. The following year I was transferred to another elementary school, and it wasn't until French class in 7th grade that we were reunited.

freshman year at JMU

Next, there's Rachel. Rachel was my first real friend when I joined Girl Scouts in 4th grade, and while I don't remember exactly what drew us together, by 6th grade, we were inseparable. Even though we never had any classes together, we managed to see each other throughout the school day and had constant play dates after school, where we sold lemonade door to door, went to the pool, and made up ridiculous nicknames for each other, like Automobile, Locomotive, and Rachel and Rebecca Bailey.

Jenny's wedding, April 4, 2009

JMU Homecoming- freshman year

Even though Jenny and I first met when I joined Girl Scouts, we didn't actually become close until 6th or 7th grade when we had lunch together. Pretty soon we were spending hours on the phone, talking about boys (always, always talking about boys!), Winnie the Pooh (classic Pooh, mind you- somehow that made it cool), Sanrio, and Beanie Babies.

me and lori at my rehearsal dinner

In 7th grade, I had science class with Lori. We quickly realized that she had recently moved to my neighborhood, and being that we were only 12 and driver's licenses were far in the future, we would spend our afternoons and weekends walking around the neighborhood.

Emily L. and me, celebrating Jenny's 26th birthday

In 8th grade, I had science with Emily L. We already knew each other because she was friends with some of the other girls, but this was our first time getting to know each other. We sat next to each other, and I'm pretty sure we didn't listen to our teacher very much that year. We picked our favorite periodic elements (don't judge us- we were in science class, what else could we do?) and passed notes.

Throughout the years, our friendships have stretched and grown and changed. There have been seasons that we haven't been as connected to each other, and seasons that we've been attached at the hip. We've had stupid fights (I'll NEVER live down the time I dropped the f-bomb at Emily L. and Jenny!) and we've had joyous celebrations. There have been marriages (Jenny, me, and Rachel) and there's been the sweetest addition of Ellie, Lori's daughter. We've all lived within 15 minutes of each other, and then we've all been spread out across Virginia at various colleges.

These girls have taught me about unconditional love. They've carried me through hard times. I'll never forget sending out an email during a particularly horrendous season of life. Within 24 hours, the girls had put together a care package for me. They've celebrated with me as I met and fell in love with Cori, being almost as excited as me when Cori first kissed me. They breathlessly answered the phone with anticipatory, "Hello's?!" for at least 3 or 4 months before actually receiving my "I'm engaged!" phone call. I know that no matter how far away I am, these girls will always, always, ALWAYS be there for me. They are some of the most precious blessings in my life, and because of all we've been through, I can say with assurance that they always will be. Love you ladies.

And because it's impossible for me to pick just one fun picture of us, here are some favorites, in no particular order.... if only we'd had digital cameras back in elementary and middle school, I'd really have a treat to share- but then again, the girls would probably kill me. ;)

beach trip, summer of 2010- lori, me, jenny, rachel, emily l., lovey

Jenny, me, Emily, and sweet baby Ellie, Christmas '05- Ellie's first!

my wedding- june 25, 2011- lori, jenny, me, rachel, lovey, and of course, everyone's favorite flower girl precious ellie (she's been mine, jenny's, and rachel's!)

a trip back to Richmond to see each other during our freshman year of college- me, Jenny, Rachel, Emily L., and Emily- dressing up in hunting gear at Wal-Mart, just like any cool college student would