"Old" friends

27 May 2009

I spent Memorial Day weekend with some of my oldest and dearest friends. The occasion was our 25th college reunion. It seems impossible to me that it’s been 29 years since I met some of these women, in the ivy-covered halls of Mount Holyoke College. I’d traveled 3,000 miles from Walla Walla, Washington, to South Hadley, Massachusetts, showing up, alone, at a college I’d never seen, except in the lushly photographed pre-internet, pre-VHS print materials. I managed to connect with some wonderful kindred spirits right from the start.

We had four great years together at college. We graduated 25 years ago today, on a beautiful New England weekend. I like to brag that I graduated first in my class at Mount Holyoke, but that’s only because we graduated alphabetically.

It was so fun being back with my pals on the college campus last weekend. We all look great. We all (mostly) feel great. We’re dealing with different challenges but facing them with great spirit. We commiserated about aging parents, parenting teenagers, and the economy. We discussed how the college (mostly) seems to offer more amenities to students than we had in our day. We complained about the dorm they housed us in. But mostly we laughed, reminisced, and enjoyed being together again.

Though we’re spread out a bit geographically (from Maine to Missouri, with spots in Pennsylvania and New York in between) Ann, Dede, Denise, KC, and I manage to get together about once a year. But it’s always so special when we get together on the college’s gorgeous campus.

The thing I love most is that no matter how much time has elapsed since we last spoke, we always pick up as it if were yesterday. My Mount Holyoke education gave me many gifts. None is larger than the lifelong friendship of these women. I am so grateful.

Here’s a photo taken by Denise’s husband, Mike, just before we parted ways after our lovely weekend.