But for the weekend? We were young again.

   

    I recently had the absolute pleasure of having a Galentine's getaway with my forever friends. Four girls who somehow knew we would always be in one another's lives. We've known each other for 16+ years. That is so crazy to think about. We also could not be more different as human beings. You hear people say, "we're the same person!" and that just isn't us. That's what makes it work. We have different opinions, interests, talents, lives, but we all have each other. I know we're lucky, I don't know many adults in my life who have friends like us. They're bonus moms to my children, they're there in a second if I need someone, and they know what's going on in my life at all times.

    We used to have crazy nights in high school where we stayed up too late, ate hot dog wieners in hot tubs, laughed until we cried, or swam with our clothes on. We talk about being young often because our lives are so different now. We have jobs, children, or responsibilities and matching up our google calendars is next to impossible. So, we decided to plan ahead and force ourselves to take time, away from our lives, for one another.

    Getting older is a strange thing. You don't realize it's happening until all of the sudden you graduated high school 10 years ago and have a mortgage. People don't look at you the way they used to, people you assume are your age are in fact 5-10 years younger, and you don't feel old enough to be the "grown-up" in most situations. You'll notice it slowly at first, asking your friends how they got rid of their crab grass, admiring the cabinets in an AirBnB, gifting banana bread, discussing how on earth people go without wearing underwear, or finding yourself asking, "Aren't they freezing in that?". Then you're there.

    You need people in your life who can make you feel like a child again. People who will cause grumpy, lonely men to give you dirty looks because you're laughing too loud and talking about boobs too much. People who make you feel like you don't have responsibilities, if only for a little while. I hope my kids will make friends that will last their entire lives. Not just friends you text on your birthday or Christmas, but friends who drop coffee on your doorstep because your kids have the flu.

    Here are just some things I always want to remember from our trip. Reagan falling asleep first and fast every night, just like in high school. Our heart shaped biscuits from breakfast. Us admiring the plants everywhere we went. Us having an entire conversation about how people can go without underwear daily (as discussed before) and then the very next day, while complaining about my see-through pants, they all talked me into not wearing underwear. Reagan ordering us warm sake to drink with our ramen and I said, "yes I will take one too!" so she brought us two containers of sake instead of two cups. I definitely didn't take it as well as Reagan, but got much better by the second container! Nikki teaching us about things we should not tolerate and telling us we need to "hold on tight" until we were crying laughing. Us all gushing at Brianna retelling her love story. Our matching fanny-packs or as the kids call them now, belt bags. 

    It was intoxicating. We ate so much good food. We drank so much coffee. GOOD coffee. We got dressed up. We hyped each other up. We got ready together. We gifted our favorite things to one another. We explored little shops we'll never forget. We laughed about things we'll never remember. We discussed how many pairs of panties is necessary for a 2-day trip (somewhere between 3 and 8). We wore pink all weekend. We got hit on. We stayed up too late. We talked about jobs, and sex, and dreams. We swapped clothes. We packed books we didn't read. We giggled and talked and laughed until we cried and did all the same types of things, just like those long-ago nights when we were younger.

    About a year or so ago I went to my cousin's wedding. Per usual, Brianna and I were together talking and laughing (I highly recommend having your best friends marry into your close family). We made our way through the food line and by the time we came out, we were crying we were laughing so hard at one another. One of my cousin's friends, who we had spent a lot of time with in our many summers in Knoxville, made his way over to us. The first thing he said was, "You two haven't changed one bit." Which could totally have been taken as an insult, but we both beamed. Here we were, grown and completely different people than when he knew us 10+ years ago, but we still hadn't changed one bit. I still think about it, that same girl always being there. So much so, that others recognize it as well. Of course we've grown and developed in new ways, but in our cores, those same young and silly girls are there.

    So, if you haven't, reach out to your people who make you feel younger. The people who are constant and don't change in the ways that matter. Find those people who make you feel confident, alive, and like the funniest person on Earth. It went by way too quick and of course I wish I had taken more pictures, but our weekend ended and we had to head back to big-girl jobs, motherhood, and responsibilities. It's okay though, because for the weekend? For the weekend, we were young again.

    {Enjoy some bonus photos of my gorgeous friends}