Arizona Girls Weekend

I was able to spend a few days in Tucson with these lovely ladies at the end of January. Two of us were very preggers at the time (27 and 29 weeks along), three of us were escaping the constant business of children, four of us were escaping the chaos of the daily work life, one of us was ditching out on classes for her MPH degree, and all of us were enjoying a little break from the fabulous men in our lives. So... quite literally... we spent a majority of our time together just relaxing and catching up. It was wonderful.

Lots of chit chat and stories being swapped. Lots of laughs. A whole lot of yummy food being consumed and fruity beverages, poolside (by the non-preggers people, of course).

I've known most of these ladies since grade school. They are a handful of my closest high school girlfriends. I have both heartfelt and hilarious memories with some of them dating back to the 1980's. This handful of ladies includes some of the people I like to call my best friends. We've been through thick and thin together. They've been there for me to support me through my darkest days and I would do the same for them. Each of us has traveled a different path through life, not always by choice, but we've somehow always kept connected through the tangled web life has spun for each of us.

The last time we ALL got together for a get-away was in January 2005 (six years ago!). They all flew to the Bay Area and we spent the weekend exploring San Francisco, and Carmel/Monterey.

On this trip, we definitely noticed how strange and old we're all getting, as conversation has turned from hitting life's big milestones to things like what we feed our kids, what we make for dinner at night, what types of exercise we prefer, if we're happy in our careers, etc. And, as Kelly was disinfecting our rooms upon arrival (which I would have done if she hadn't!), and me pulling out the soft soap for the bathrooms... we realized we're also very weird. We like to be clean. We like to be regular (yes - we happened upon many discussions discussing our bodies! ha!). We like *us* time, which seems so rare these days. We like to exercise. We love the conveniences the internet provides. We love Facebook. We love to read (well... when we have time to read!). And, we like good food!

I always think of this quote when I think of these girls: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold." - unknown