On Saturday I went to a friends 40th birthday party. Now that in itself is depressing, the fact that this year I'm turning 40, but this party was special. I received the invite just a week prior to the party and I was thrilled. I hadn't seen Rhona for about 20 years and yet she had managed to find me and had invited all our old school gang to her 40th birthday.
Along with the excitement of seeing old friends I was also anxious. I've filled out a little since I last saw them. (ok, a little, may be a slight under exaggeration) How would they see me? What would they think? Could we get along after all this time? Lots of questions I really couldn't know the answer to until I actually went to the party.
The day of the party I was so stressed. I messed about with my hair for a ridiculous amount of time and started to feel pressured. I hoped that the night was going to go well. My husband had booked a taxi to pick us up at half past midnight. If it went terribly it was going to be a long night.
I needn't have worried. The minute I walked in the room Rhona recognised me a threw her open arms around me sqealing. I returned the open arms and the squealing in equal measure. It was so great to see her.
Rhona then pointed to where Sarah was stood and more hugging, squealing and "I can't believe it"s ensued. I had abandoned hubby but he'd found company in the shape of Sarahs husband.
Next Emily walked in and we stood waving wildly so she would see us. This whole scenario continued until all six of my old school group were stood together, husbands randomly abandoned to their own devices.
An eighties disco took us to the dance floor and we boogied are excited energy away to the likes of Wham and Erasure.
All danced and gossiped out, the evening end came far too soon. We've delighted in how easy it was to be back together and have promised to get together every couple of months and keep doing it until we are comparing our blue rinses.
I'm so glad I went. It was easy and comfortable being with them and I now know, true friendship is one where 20 years can feel like yesterday. I know it doesn't always turn out so well, but for us it was amazing.
Names have been changed to protect the innocent :)
Monday 7 March 2011
Friend Reunion
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I'm glad your fears were groundless and that you enjoyed the time spent with old friends.
ReplyDeleteWe tracked down some friends we hadn't seen since we graduated - a lengthy process of stalking and messaging on Facebook.;) It was amazing how quickly we slid back into the patterns of friendships forged in the days when I took in my size 10 jeans ;)
Oh, that sounds fantastic! I'm nearing the big 40 in a few short years and I have a 20-year high-school reunion coming up -- eep! I can relate to your stress. I'm glad it all turned out well, though.
ReplyDeleteThere's something special about the connections between good friends even after the years have passed. In one of my recent encounter with an old friend, we reconnected after about 40 years. The same magic of the old friendship was still there and now we keep in regular contact. Friendship is one of the most important investments a person can make.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Elaine - I can absolutely relate to being a different size. It was something that actually worried me, but as you say, the old friendships stood the test of time and size :)
ReplyDeleteTalli - It was great. I can't wait to hear how your 20 year reunion goes. Have a great time with it.
Lee - I absolutely agree. This past week has also been great as text messages have been going around planning our next get together, showing that it wasn't just a one off reunion, but a real friendship reconnection.