Monday, August 7, 2017

Beachy Weekend

Orange Beach, AL
We all met in college.

Britton might tell you she didn't like me at first because I cut to the front of the line during freshman registration. Which is only partly true.


Amy might tell you I forced her out into the cold to search for a missing dog we heard about on the radio. Which is completely true.

Beth might tell you the first time we hung out we sat up talking for hours. Which is also totally true.

We all lived on the same floor in James Annex, each with different roommates. But we met by chance and decided to make our resident adviser crazy by shuffling three different rooms, affecting more than half a dozen people, a move hardly rivaled when it comes to NBA trades!

That was the Great Roommate Swap of 1995, celebrated with a snack of ding dongs and milk because that's all we had handy. I'm pretty sure someone's mother sent them to us in a care package. Probably Amy's.

More than two decades later, we still talk about that night and the countless adventures we've had since. The most recent, a beachy birthday weekend on the Gulf Coast.

I caught a quick flight Friday to Pensacola where the girls picked me up and the relaxation began! Whenever I'm around them, my walls come down and we immediately drag out the old stories from college and continue the razzing that started 22 years ago.

Not even a little rain could dampen our time together. Lounging around, a dip in the ocean, fancy dinner, birthday cake, card games, even sweaty miniature golf, it was a short weekend that was big on good times and tons of laughs.

Now we're back to real life filled with work, kids and other obligations. But after the girls took me back to the airport and we hugged our goodbyes, it only took five minutes to get the text, "I miss you already!"