Now and Then...

Thomas Wolfe said you can never go home again. That's fine for old Tom. But he's not a chick who made a pact with his girlfriends to be there for whenever they need each other. - "Now & Then"

I can't think of a better way to begin this blog than with that quote. I remember well when that line first gained meaning for me.

Picture it: 16 years old, sitting with my four best girlfriends in one of their parent's rec rooms. We were munching on pizza rolls and raw cookie dough and washing it all down with cold Dr. Pepper. As they always do, this sentimental chick flick touched each of our hearts, and we immediately decided the movie reflected our lives. We vowed to stay friends forever.


(Us in 1996!! Clockwise from me: Jenny, Laura, Becky and Melissa)


Then, as they always do, things changed.

As we grew older we grew apart. We left high school with strained relationships. We got through one year of college and barely spoke at all.

Without us even realizing 10 years passed and propelled us all to different cities and very different lives. Still something was missing.

Without warning, one of the girls issued a sort of mea culpa via MySpace.com, asking our forgiveness for all that went under the bridge a decade ago. We all took the blame for our sins of the past and the general sin of just not staying in touch. Suddenly, plans for a reunion were underway.

We decided to meet this past weekend in Hilton Head where one of the girls now lives with her husband. With one exception (poor Becky had to be in a wedding and couldn't make it), we dove headfirst into plans for the excursion.

As I drove the six hours from Anniston, I couldn't help but wonder if this was a bad idea. So much has changed in my life during the past 10 years. I couldn't imagine what we would still have in common.

Within moments of my arrival my fears were quelled.

Beer was our new Dr. Pepper. Greek salads and baked brie took the place of pizza rolls at our table.

The differences weren't all material, though. Philosophies had changed; tastes and styles were a far cry from those we prided ourselves on in high school; experiences had shaped and molded us. We all were different people.

Still we found common ground as we spilled our life stories in the same place we did so long ago. After all that time we still genuinely enjoyed each others' company.

As we parted ways Sunday morning we made familiar promises to remain friends forever (again). What's different this time is our differences. Our varied experiences and separate lives will only strengthen our friendships, because we have so much to learn from each other.

Plus, we did dig into the pizza rolls late Saturday night. Some things never change.

And now, the pictures!

From left, Melissa, Laura, Jenny and me.

In true "us" fashion, we had lunch at a delicious Mexican restaurant. Just can't beat the nachos and cheese!


We enjoyed a haunted pub tour in Savannah (about 20 miles from Hilton Head). Here we are with our tour guide, Jamie.

After the pub tour, we got a little frisky and Laura dared me to sing "My Sharona" (an old favorite) at a karaoke bar. I happily obliged, and Laura even helped we dance on stage during the 68 measure musical break!


We capped the night off at a dance club where we partied the night away to really bad salsa music.

It was a great weekend, filled with lots of girl talk and great memories!

Cheers to that!