We were oh so young when we met. Some of us went all through school together. We played on the playground together in grade school. Yesterday, we reminisced about our memories of when President Kennedy was assassinated…what were we doing, where were we when we found out, whose class were we in? We’ve gone through so much in our lives. We fought together for our rights and freedoms. We come from the same general background but with different upbringings. We love and respect each other…immensely. So, not a single one of us brought up anything remotely controversial yesterday. I don’t think a single one of us have our heads in the sand, but after the week we’ve collectively had, we just needed each other’s company. An unspoken bond held together with time and love and coffee.
We were oh so young when we left high school to head out into the world to continue our educations and create loves and families and careers. I didn’t really get to know most of these wonderful women until the last eight years or so. That’s when I asked a couple of my friends…
“How often to do you all get together for coffee?”
Crickets.
They hadn’t done that. Maybe lunch from time to time. But we had families to raise and houses to run and jobs to keep. I don’t think we really had time for friendships back then. And now? Now we have grandma faces. Life is a little bit slower. We appreciate the time a little bit more. We’ve gotten to a place in our lives where our friendships have moved a little closer to center stage. I keep a Facebook page where I can send out invitations for coffee gatherings. We try to meet once a month, although sometimes that isn’t possible. There was a big hiatus during covid and we were so excited to have a socially distanced coffee in the park one gorgeous summer day.
One of our big topics of conversation yesterday was our upcoming 50+1 Class Reunion. We are hoping it will be well attended. Six years ago, we had a coffee gathering at a Victorian mansion that belongs to a dear family friend/relative and some of the girls wanted to do that again. But, that’s a lot of work, and lot to ask of the homeowners. We talked about it yesterday and decided to have a gathering in the park for our coffee at this reunion.
We were oh so young. And now?
Our youth is on the inside now…tucked away…buffered by the winds of time and change.
Oh…so much change.
We may have grandma faces now, but we are still those young girls in the polyester pant suits and platform shoes and bell bottom jeans…on the inside.
?
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
Ephesians 4:29 ESV