Make new friends, but keep the old....

For one of the many Christmas parties of the season, I got together with a group of friends for a Christmas cookie exchange last night. These were all girls I grew up with in Nederland, and one adoptee friend (Lori) that we have claimed as an honorary "Nederland Girl"over the past year. :)

Most of us girls have known each other since kindergarden or 1st grade, with some of our groups merging through middle school and high school - which means that there are several of us who have lived about 23-24 years of life together so far, but all of us have known each other for at least 15 years. There are 6 of us living in Houston who were there last night (Toni, Kari, Lyndsay, Stacey, Lori, and myself), Leslie, who is also living in Houston, Reeni and Patricia living in the New York area, and Kathleen living in Hawaii.

The husbands and friends who have witnessed these get-togethers over the years always comment on how unique it is to have had a group of friends for so long. For us, it is hard to imagine what life would be like without it. When you've known someone for that long, there is a sense of history that is established, at some point your friendships turn to family, and the lines blur. We all knew each other's families growing up, and still ask about them when we get together. They are an extension of our own, and have witnessed all the major milestones in our lives over the years - graduations, weddings, deaths, illnesses, etc.

Over the years, as life has happened, the times we have been able to reconnect have been sporadic. During our college years, we all took different paths and developed our own groups of friends and explored new experiences so we saw each other less. Now that several of us are living in Houston, we've been blessed with the opportunity to get together more often, and we definitely have fun reliving moments and telling stories on each other - there are quite a few!!

But when it comes down to it, these girls are ones I know I can call at anytime, night or day, and they will be there no matter how long it has been since I've seen them last. We pick up again just like we used to when we would ride our bikes to school through the neighborhood, picking each other up along the way. I am blessed to have friends like these, friends more like sisters, friends that are unconditional. Our shared memories, in a way, make our lives real, and experiencing life with others helps to remind us of who we are and who we are becoming. It has been a blessing growing up with you ladies!!