Recently I had a weekend that was 22 years in the making. As a freshman in college, I joined a phenomenal group of women when I pledged the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority at Illinois Wesleyan University. I didn’t know then how phenomenal they were. I just knew I wanted to make great friends, have fun, and find my place at college. And that’s exactly what happened.

As young women living and growing up together, away from our homes, we learned a lot about each other and about ourselves. We saw the best days. And we saw the days that brought tears. And then we graduated and went on with our lives – some of us never physically in the same space until last week.

And then we reconnected. After grad schools. Kiddos. Marriages. Divorces. Careers. Scary health issues. Life.

I suppose it could have gone like a bad comedy where no one really had anything to say and after all those years we actually had nothing in common. But I never thought that would be the case and it wasn’t.

It was food for our souls. Just being in a house with all those exceptional women made me feel on top of the world.

Reflecting upon the weekend, it seems like no matter how much we’ve experienced or learned, we’re still the same college girls we always were.

Hardworking.
Intelligent.
Generous.
Ambitious.
Supportive.
Funny.
Loud.
Interesting.
Kind.
Beautiful.

It was a rainy weekend and we didn’t leave the house much. We talked. And talked. And talked some more. About food, kids, work, homes, schools, activities, skincare, surgeries, college (and how thrilled we all were that social media was NOT invented yet). There was also a very involved conversation about what is, in fact, a VSCO Girl. 🙂

One person shared that she thought we could have talked straight for a week and not run out of things to say. I agree. It was extremely rejuvenating (and tiring) to chat about all the things with people who hold no judgment, have great info, and love each other for who we are.

We laughed. We cried. We shared stories and advice. We drank our favorite adult beverages. And we bunked up in dormers. Just like when we met.

It was pure joy.

How do we hold onto that? We’ve started a slack channel for tech as many people aren’t on social media. And some of us are already attempting to meet up again in a month to celebrate my 40th birthday!

The thing is, when you have a solid foundation, the maintenance doesn’t necessarily have to be constant. It takes some upkeep. But the formation is there. The trust, love, bond, and support system continues to run deep. And that realization is the good stuff in life.