Gang of 12

There are few things more important in life than good friends. Having moved a number of times in my life, my appreciation for friendship has been heightened. When you move to a new place your immediate support network is stripped and you are forced to rebuild that network- a network that takes time to build strong relationships. I am extremely fortunate when it comes to friends. Not only have I grown up knowing many wonderful people from different corners of the country but I have a husband who is my best friend and can bridge the gap in these times of transition and provide a constant and familiar friendship that I am so thankful for. However, I am not writing this to get sappy...

The real reason I am choosing this week to post about friends is because this coming weekend is THE one and only 4th Annual Girls Getaway Weekend. I have a nucleus group of college friends that is amazing. These 12 (yes, 12 of us) met in Alpha Omicron Pi in 2003 and have grown together through the years to be an amazingly diverse and well rounded group of friends that I can count on for anything.

We were inspired by a another group of AOPi alumnae who have done this sort of reunion every year for the last 20 or so years. The inspiration was from a speach about sisterhood and friendship during our senior year of college, "not all of us can attend every year... we get away from husbands and children, take a break from life and just settle into our friends for the same weekend each year. We've endured births, deaths, divorces, and plastic surgeries. We've battled cancer and shared in our lives through this connection once a year." If that is not inspiring, I don't know what is. Naturally, we copied. The first year we spent in Destin, FL, the second year I hijacked with my wedding reception weekend and we spent it at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee. Last year we turned Savannah, GA upside down in an amazing renovated row house and this year we will head to Gulf Shores. We all look forward to these reunions to reconnect, laugh and share and these weekends will continue to be our respite for years to come! (CR and Becca we will miss you this year!)

Blog brag moment: our group of friends has one attorney, 2 PAs, a pharmacist, a mother, a teacher, 2 designers (one interior, one graphic), 7 advanced degrees (and one on the way) and most importantly a group of intelligent, well-rounded beautiful women... I am looking forward to visiting with them in a few days and know it will be a great trip... it always is!