Arizona to Chicago: Farewell Erin!

Happy Monday! I wonder how many other weekend posts around the web started that way this morning. It is a happy one though, if only for the fact that we got all of our errands done before 9am and now both boys are napping. And this weekend? Oh, was such a great one. It was full of all the things I love the most- friends, family, really, really great food, and lots of dancing. On Saturday in fact I had to pinch myself as I took a look around on that crowded dance floor, and realized that this was IT. This was one of those really happy moments I'll think back to for years to come- surrounded by some of my oldest friends, drinks clinking, singing along to really ridiculous 90s country at 12am. The song playing at the moment was Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine," if that gives you a better picture of the awesomely embarrassing girl power celebration that was going on. Earlier that night I had tucked another moment away, taking a second to memorize all the details as we all spun each other around that hot, crowded dance floor at the Rusty Spur as the live band played and played. And if my memory fails me one day, at least I have a poorly-lit two minute video to take me right back. ;)

And I have to say this too- when you grow up with the same group of friends- when they've seen you through all the weird phases and weird hair and even weirder boyfriends, there's a deep comfort and love there. I've talked about this countless times here, but all of us lived together through college, experiencing every bit of life together for years. And then after we graduated, we lived together too, all meeting each others' husbands as we met them for ourselves, and then later watching each of our separate stories unfold; jobs and marriage and houses and kids, the easy stuff and the hard stuff- all the stuff really. So it was an emotional weekend, full of lots of laughter and some tears too, as we celebrated our friendships while also saying goodbye to Erin, who is moving to Chicago next month.

Erin and I met our freshman year of college- we lived in the same dorm and ended up rushing the same sorority- and we had an instant connection. Fast forward 14 years down the road and we've experienced all sorts of life's adventures at the same time, even being pregnant with Henry and her Kyler together. I'm very sad to see her go, but it's also incredibly exciting to know they are off on this new adventure. Plus, I've never been to Chicago and I can't wait to check it out! So Windy City people, if you see Erin around, tell her hello...she's a good one!

Below are just a few iPhone photos of our weekend at The Valley Ho. I wish I had taken more of the hotel itself- it's one of my favorites- and if you like mid-century design definitely check it out. The history of the place is pretty awesome. Autumn, Shirley, Alana and I actually lived right down the street from it on 2nd Street after college- the whole area is really fun.

And one last request before we get to the photos- Chicago people, do you have any must-sees or must-dos (places to go, restaurants, etc) for Erin and her family? I'm going to direct her to the comments, so hopefully a few of you are from the Chicago area and can share some expertise! Thank you in advance.

xoxo

Once upon a time I went away to college...

Once upon a time I went away to college, two and a half hours north of where my parents lived. I went knowing just a few people- one close friend from high school, a couple more from sports- but after growing up surrounded by the same people for so long, it was a totally different experience to be just plopped down in this new place, without my support system all around me. Luckily just over two hours wasn't so far at all, but it was still a shock to suddenly be on my own after being so not on my own my entire life.

They had all of the freshman arrive a week early to get acclimated to our new college world and attend some of the million events and activities happening all over campus. I remember contiuously seeing signs for Greek life and Rush Week and it started to get my wheels turning a bit. Sorority life? I wasn't too sure. I certainly hadn't come to college with the intention of rushing, but in the spirit of "new" that was pervading every inch of my life, I decided to try it out and dragged along my friend from home.

I think sometimes it's hard to really see life-changing events for what they are as they are happening, and I'm not sure if I really grasped just how much this would change my life. There's so much more to say about my four years as a Pi Phi- many more stories for another day for sure- but for now I'll just say that looking all the way back to 2000 I can't even begin to express how fortunate I am that I just did it. Through it and its connections I met my lifelong friends, the girls who I call my sisters and who are deeply intertwined into my life so naturally and easily that it's amazing to just step back and look at this family of friends we've created. We may not all be the same; in fact, we're insanely different, but over the past decade we've all grown together and apart, and back together again in different ways, that our now adult selves are able to really appreciate the strength and stability of our bond even more. We don't all talk all of the time, and naturally some of us are closer than others, but when we are all reunited it's as if no time has passed. And to me, that is the sign of a true friendship.

And now fast forward twelve years to the present. It's Fall again in Flagstaff, the leaves are orange and gold and red. It's freezing out, our breath clouding the air as we laugh and talk, and the clouds hang in the same way around the San Francisco Peaks just as they did ten years ago. I walk arm in arm with the girls I spent four years laughing and partying and studying with. The girls who have seen it all. We talk about old times and we catch up on our todays. We reminisce at how strange it is to be back together in this place, visiting our old haunts and walking the same steps we did, way back in the beginning. And we make wishes for the future, looking ahead to a day just like today and yesterday, when the six of us will walk arm in arm together again as little old ladies, thinking how strange it is to be back together in this place, visiting our old haunts and walking the same steps we did when we were young.

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She is a friend of mind.  She gather me, man.  The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.  It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind
  
-Toni Morrison, Beloved