It's one of the few times a year most of us are together.  Over the years, there has been the group.  Stacy, Jo-Anne, Tracey, Danny, Me, and now, Tony.  Sure, there have been others, when we were dating someone else (or married to someone else), friends that have come in and left again, but the group has always been us. 

We're a varied group from 28 (me) to 35 (Stacy) and most years in between covered.  We're everything from a housewife (Me) to students (Tony and Tracey), Government worker (Stacy), stay at home Mom (Jo-Anne).  From the outside, you'd never guess that the group of us should be not only friends, but family.  These people are my family, as much as my Mom and Dad are.  If I were ever on the side of the road, I'd call them.  Hell, I have called them and they've always been right there. 

Through the past 20 years, yes, 20 of them, we've been through it all together.  Marriages, divorces, loss of parents, kids, loss of kids, no money, a little bit of money, injuries, chronic illness, surgeries, hospitalizations, all of it.  Anything you can imagine, we've been through together. 

Oh, I'm not saying there's never been arguements.  We're all stubborn as hell, bound and determined to have things our way, but we always come back together, hug each other, and move on.  There's not the normal back biting bullshit that I see with so many other people our age.  We're just friends.  Even though 2 of them had to move so damn far away (Yes, more than 2 hours away, how dare they?) 

As we've gotten older, we don't spend as much time with one another.  Tracey and Danny live farther away.  Stacy and Jo-Anne have a small place (not for long, go, go, damn bureacracy), Tony and I live with my parents.  There's no longer the yard down near the beach front for us to gather in. 

But, we still remain in touch.  Phone calls, silly emails, just thinking about one another.  There's not a day that goes by without all of them crossing my mind.  

And when we're together?  The same old stories are told, the same in jokes, that no one else would understand, the reminscing about some of the dumb ass shit we've down over the years brings us back to before marriages and kids and well, just growing up has pulled us into not being at the others' houses day in and day out.  

Now, when we get together the conversations turn more towards medical shit (2 chronic illnesses, 1 permanent disability, 1 who keeps hurting himself at work) or just getting older.  As a whole we can't seem to accept that we're all really adults now.  But, when does it ever set in that you're not a slightly older, somewhat slower version of yourself? 

The day that realization sets in for all of us, you'll hear the moaning and wailing and gnashing of teeth, no matter where you are.  We're nothing if not loud. 

Loud, obnoxious, full of ourselves when we're together as one, we take any place by storm.  My friends are good people, the kind that would give you the shirt off their back, should you need it.  Hell, even if you didn't need it, their liable to strip anyway. 

And this is what I wanted to say to them; I love you all, you big bunch of goofballs. 

  
Jo-Anne and Lexi 2002      Danny 2003 

  
Tracey 2003          Tracey and Stacy 2003