Now and Then

I had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with a very special group of friends tonight. Kirsten, Caitlin, Alexa, and I were best friends all throughout elementary school. They were the DGFC of my awkward little kid/pre-teen years. We were inseparable.

The group, circa 2001

Me, Alexa, Kirsten, Caitlin

Kirsten and I have stayed in touch (obviously), but it's literally been years since I've hung out with Caitlin and Alexa. We still lived in the same hometown, so I've seen them once or twice, but the last time we spent more than a few minutes all together was probably in the 7th grade. Crazy!

Of course, when Kirsten called me about the four of us going out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, I was way excited. A little nervous about how we would mesh together after all these years, but very anxious to see them. However, turns out I had nothing to worry about. We laughed and teased each other and talked about everything under the sun, just like old times.

Nearly a decade later...

Our evening together was great. Unfortunately, the reason for this spontaneous get-together was not so great. Caitlin is leaving early tomorrow morning (technically, today- it's after midnight) for Florida. For good. She's moving down there with her boyfriend, her mom, and her mom's boyfriend.

Even though we haven't hung out on a regular basis since we were 13 years old, I'm so sad about Caitlin's move. For the better part of our childhood, the two of us were next-door neighbors. Our houses were less than 30 feet apart from each other. There was never a day when we weren't together. The amount of inside jokes and memories and stupid fights and tearful make-ups we have under our belt is astounding.

It doesn't matter that those days are so far in the past. I'm still crushed because her leaving Indiana is symbolic of the fact that we're not little kids anymore. We're growing up and changing and learning and paving our separate paths. As comforting as it would be to do so, I can't wrap up everyone I've ever cared about in a neat little package and keep them all held hostage here in Columbus. One of my closest childhood best friends moving 17 hours away is proof of that. And that's so sad.

Tonight was definitely bittersweet. I had a great time with those girls, and I'm so grateful for those last few hours we got to spend together. I just wish we'd have taken advantage of the opportunity to see each other on a regular basis when we still had the chance.

I don't know how long it will be until we're all in the same state again... but whenever that is, we're reuniting once more. For sure. Just like old times :)