My three best friends from high school came to visit me this summer for a wonderful weekend of reminiscing and freedom from the present trials and stresses that "almost thirty" threatens to suffocate us with. The three of us could not be more different from one another.
Lee is living in the Big City with her brilliant husband who is working on his doctorate (I don't even know if I spelled that correctly) at an Ivey League School. She is a stay at home mom of two beautiful boys and looking to find a job as a counselor. She married a wonderful man who adores her. He is of a different race and religion and I admire their love an devotion despite the glares, stares and judgement passed by so many. She is liberal with some conservative viewpoints but her life experiences have made her views of this world so much broader than mine.
I've known Nicole since 7th grade when we were both nerdy, scrawny, ugly ducklings fighting to keep our heads above water in the shark-infested waters of Jr. High School. She has had a difficult life with an unsympathetic single-mother who dressed her in polos, khakis, and penny loafers and hoped she would turn out just like her. I'm so glad that she didn't. Nicole is finally happy (with the help of medication and weekly therapy) with her NASA hubby and they are expecting their first child. Nicole is still a nerd at heart but she is also a beautiful friend who has bravely overcome her insecurities and crazy ass mother. She is a conservative with some liberal viewpoints. Our political beliefs are similar.
Suzanne lives in a small town and works for a private college. She is the dominant personality out of the three of us. She doesn't believe in marriage or children for herself and lives with an adorable, loving boyfriend who worships the ground she walks on. She is an artist of all trades. She has pieces in many galleries and is undeniably talented. Suzanne is very intelligent and often uses big words that I do not know (I just pretend to). She is very liberal and we cannot discuss politics or religion because our beliefs are so different. I love her dearly and am probably closest to her or at least I was in high school.
Then there's me. I teach kindergarten and live in a big house with my cookie-cutter family. This is what my friends call it, I wouldn't completely disagree. I love my life and I thank God each day for all that he has given me. I admit that I have the lowest I.Q. out of my girlfriend gang, but I can keep up. They call me the "elegant" one and compare me to Charlotte from Sex and the City. I don't know about that. I am conservative but very accepting of others different from the way I live and think. I try not to judge and to see the good in everything, but I'm not afraid to stand up for what I strongly believe in: God, family, faith, and freedom.
So, each summer we all get together for a "Girlfriend Getaway". This year is was my home. We laugh till we cry, make fun of each other, and have serious discussions about who we are individually. The best part is that we all love each other even though we have all changed so much since high school. Or maybe we haven't changed at all. I think we have each just grown more into the individual people we are.
I get so emotional each time we part ways. This time I allowed myself to analyze why that is. My high school friends represent a past that I miss. A past that was simple and yet completely drenched in teenage drama. I miss the friendships they represent. I think as we get older those unconditional friendships are so hard to find. I am saddened when they leave because of the vast emptiness I feel. I feel so alone after being so completely understood and loved and so well-known. When I say good-bye to them, its like saying good-bye to a little piece of myself. A piece of my past and memories that I cherish and would love to re-live.
Over the past couple of weeks, I start to really look at the relationships that I have with other women in my life. Although none can quite compare to my high school sisters, there is one woman here that I am getting closer to each day. She is another extremely intelligent person. I also work with her which is an added plus. She has become my best friend here and I love that I can be myself around her. She is the only person here that I feel I can be or maybe its just that she makes the effort to find out who I am.
So as I near this beast of a year called "Thirty" approaches, I know that I'll be okay. I have a family that loves me. Yes, it is filled with drama parallel to the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" (even my dad calls me Debra). But its my life. And I also have this wonderful friend/colleague that listens to me bitch about Marie any time I want. And of course, I have this blog that I can ramble out my thoughts and legitimate bitches and no one knows its from me!
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