Ralph said it best

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
---Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well said, Ralph. Just recently, I had several days of being around many of my special old friends.

It started when the small group from our previous church invited us back for the annual weekend trip to Lake Brownwood. These are people that we shared close to 8 years with and all went through just about every life experience you can think of. I feel completely myself around these people. In fact, they got to see a real “stupid” moment of mine (as Ralph says), when I went into a mild panic attack at the sight of a tiny field mouse in the farmhouse we were staying. Despite a stray tear here or there (I'm a city girl!), we all survived.

I miss seeing all of them as regularly as we used to, but I’m also confident that the friendships are ones that will last many years.

And here’s a picture to really capture the friendship. Three of the guys (Wade, Jody, & Cody) cleaning up the Underwood’s dinner (YUH-MMMY!) for 17 adults and 13 kids (11 of which are 5 and under). It was quite a task. Thanks guys! And thanks to everyone for inviting the Strzinek traitors back. We love you!



Then just a few days later, we had the pleasure of having Bert, Paige, & Anna stay with us for a couple of nights. Paige & I met our freshman year when we lived on the same floor of Gardner Dorm. We became close friends quickly, and I can honestly say, I can’t imagine the last 14 years without her. There is an equal amount of transparency in our friendship that I will forever be thankful for. It’s comforting to have someone else out there know the good, bad, and ugly about you and still stick around for so long.

The neat thing about our friendship is that Wade & Bert have known each other practically their entire lives. So, there’s no chance anyone will be getting out of this friendship anytime soon.

Tate loved having Anna over at the house to play with. She is an adorable, sweet little girl, and I just wish we could all see each other more often. But we make the most of any time we get together and love every minute of it.

And then a few days after that, I made a solo trip down to San Antonio to help host a baby shower for my college roommate, Garyn. We also met my freshman year on the same floor in Gardner Dorm. We were then roommates for 3 ½ years (even sharing a room for 2 years), so you definitely get to know someone after that. She is a friend that I can go a month without talking to, but then when we do, it seems as if we talk every day.

My college experience was wonderful for many, many reasons, and I will always cherish the memories I had with my roommates. Oh wow, do we have some funny memories?

I feel like we understand each other really well. So well that we stayed up talking until after 1:00 a.m. each day I was there. Well that happens pretty much anytime that we see each other. She is a devoted friend, and I am convinced that she will be in my life forever. I wish that meant in the same city, but I’ll take whatever I can get.

Since her baby girl is due in September, this was probably one of our last typical girl’s weekends for awhile. We did a lot of fun baby shopping, two trips to my favorite, Alamo Café, and had a beautiful baby shower for a beautiful mommy-to-be. I can’t wait to watch her and Zach become parents.

So in a span of 10 days, I was able to spend time with many of my favorite people. I am a blessed soul to have so many special friends around me.