20 Years of Friendship

The five of us have been friends since we were the age our children are now. I met Sarah in second grade, Mal in seventh, and Em and Steph came together with us like kismet along the way.

We all hail from Michigan, and are now spread across the country from Montana to Maryland. We’ve seen each other through the ebbs and flows of life, and into marriage and motherhood. I’ve joked that we’ll be Marco Polo-ing our way through menopause, but at this point, that’s not too far fetched.

It’s our 20th highschool reunion this year, and though I would have loved to see everyone, we all decided it was most important that we make space to be with each other. It’s no small feat to arrange the care of 9 children between us, time off from jobs and the businesses we own.

And though we get the chance to be in each other’s presence once a year if we’re lucky (last year four of us made it, though Covid kept us from all being together), when the five of us all walked into that living room of our AirBnB in Charlotte, South Carolina, the energy shifted in the most magical way. And when we got into the sketchiest cab to go to the beach, complete with broken seats and the oddest music selection, we were doubled over, gasping for breath, trying to hold back the tears from laughing so hard. In an instant, it was like no time had passed at all, and suddenly I was 17 again.