Everything Has Changed. Nothing Has Changed.

"Everything has changed, but nothing has changed", she said. And we couldn't agree more. Let me back up a little. Fall 1990. Miami University - Scott Hall. My high school BFF, Mandy, and I in one room - 225 maybe? Next door were Sarah & Laura, who were townies (from Oxford). On the other side of them were Mindi & Kristen, from North Olmsted. Long story short, we (plus some others in our corridor) became very close, very quickly. We did all kinds of awesome, crazy fun things together. I couldn't find a picture of all of us together, but here are some of us:

Mindi's on the bottom left and that's Sarah on the top right. Yes, I am the one in the middle wearing the totally awesome shorts and matching top. Fabulous. Anywho, fast forward almost 20 years... We fell out of touch. Moves, job, kids, marriages, divorces and...well...just life happened. Several years ago - thanks to the facebook - we all reconnected. And, this weekend, we had a girls' weekend in Amish country. I had the best time. Seriously. Mandy and I drove up on Friday, Sarah arrived about an hour after us, and them Mindi got there around 10pm. We had a cabin right on Main St. in Berlin - a really cute cabin BTW. I was feeling somewhat sickly Friday night & most of Saturday (allergies, I think), so I crashed out early while the girls sat in the family room and talked. They offered to go upstairs or shut the door to keep things quiet for me, but I didn't mind. I was there with my girls and it was awesome. I don't know any other way to describe it other than it just made me happy to hear them chattering like little monkeys. So happy. You know you have bonded with someone when nearly 20 years passes and you can just pick up where you left off. Saturday morning we lazed around for a while and then went to lunch (food first). Then shopping (of course). Then we got cheese. Because we all love cheese. Kristen got there mid-afternoon and was able to join us for a little shopping. I didn't really buy much (surprise), but I did get a lot of cheese to bring home (not so much a surprise). I did pick up this cute vase. The top has a bunch of holes in it to keep your arrangement nice & organized. AND, as luck would have it, my super sweet husband had roses waiting for me at home this afternoon.

After a very hearty Amish meal at Der Dutchman, we drove around for a little and then went back to the cabin. We watched movies and talked. And it was wonderful. That's when Sarah said, "Everything has changed, but nothing has changed". And she's so, so right. It makes my heart feel so happy that I am back in touch with these amazing women. And they love me. They know all about me - the good, the bad & the ugly - and they still love me. That makes me feel very blessed. We're already talking about where we're going next spring. I, for one, can't wait!