Family of Friends

 

It was truly my intention to document the adventures of my trip on a daily basis.  However, what I failed to realize is that my itinerary was jam packed and much of the time I was off the grid. Unregretfully, I was out exploring the world and scratching off bucket lists with 9 of my oldest and dearest friends. Most of us have been together since elementary school.  Today as I dropped the last one off at the airport, *saudade washed over me. I knew in my heart that it might have been the last trip where we were all together.  We are now 57 years old and life is full of transitions and intersections which will make it nearly impossible to get our big group together again.  As our children grow up, marry and give us grandkids, our priorities and commitments will change. Thus, it will get more and more difficult to be all in the same place at the same time.

But the beauty of our friendship is that it has and will always stand the test of time.  We show up for each other when it matters most.  And my girls showed up for me BIG time.  It was the greatest retirement present I could have wished for.

Thank you gals for being one of the few things I know will remain constant in this ever- changing world. Family of friends always and forever.

 

P.S.  Travel blog with pics are coming soon(I promise)

 

 

*Saudade is a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for something or someone that one cares for and/or loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never be had again.