The Girls

Four of my high school girlfriends came to the cottage the last weekend there. Two who could not come sent regrets...Peg and Carol (she sent the most beautiful spray of flowers!).
They went to Mackinac Island, but otherwise hung out at the cottage and a couple of towns nearby.
There is something about being with females you have grown up with as they know you inside and out. Or so it seems. I realized when we got together how many years we had been apart and for some strange reason shared some scary incidents in my life that just kind of came out of my mouth without intending to...

Jake, Beth and Bob were there...I had thought I would be able to spend all the time with the girls on the weekend, maybe next time we are together. We named it the second annual Julie's Weekend because she hosted the first one in our hometown and has since died from cancer. We felt her presence with us, as well as those of other girlfriends though.

We were a fairly cohesive group of about a dozen gals back in the 60's when parents stayed married and dinner was on the table most evenings. It was truly a blessing to have grown up in those days and I will always cherish the friendships that arose from those years.

Pictured are Jeanne, Marilyn, Annette, Karen and Moi.

Jeanne was a cheerleader and married her high school sweetheart. She was an American Airlines stewardess for many years and then they raised a family of three boys and one girl, who are now all married.Her husband was an auctioneer and is now retired. The two of them also found time to be missionaries in Russia. Now they are anticipating moving to a new condo after selling the home where they raised their family and moving into a new phase of their lives. The two of them still look just like they did years ago with only minor hair color changes. They are Christians and it shows in how genuinely they communicate with others. I so admire Jeanne...she was and still is one of the sweetest girls I know!
Marilyn and I were born 5 days apart and our Mom's were in the same hospital room. I did not know until this weekend together that my mother named me the name Marilyn's mom had intended (guess it was a popular name then), so her Mom named her Marylin. Later Marilyn changed her name to be exactly what her Mom first intended as she herself preferred it! Whenever Marilyn was called in a group, both of us used to answer!! ---Marilyn was our gorgeous Homecoming Queen. After college she went into social work and now lives out west where she works in a small school teaching 20 students. She is into spiritual guidance, the environment, and nutrition. I had not remembered seeing Marilyn since college but she swears I visited her once in Detroit and I have no memory of it! She's sending me a photo she says she has of me there to prove it. Strangest thing not to remember that. Marilyn has a soulmate of six years and is foster raising a young boy of 11. She also by a previous marriage had a beautiful daughter and now has a son in law, grandson and granddaughter.
Annette is full of energy and a lot of fun. Her father was superintendent of our school and she came from a large family. She is an English teacher and her husband a school principal in a small town near our hometown. They raised four girls, three of which were triplets. Annette says it was all about organization raising them! Now all the girls are married and they have one gorgeous porcelain faced granddaughter and another child on the way. This year they all went to Mexico together and next summer they plan to get together at a cabin near a lake. Annette was checking rentals online and when I checked them also, I was amazed at the rents they could command.---Anyway, Annette drove and also brought the wine. Her phone rang over and over and she truly was the life of the gathering! I am amazed at her energy and her youthful good looks after all these years. It would not have been a gathering without her and I hope she never misses a one through the years!
Karen was, and is still, Marilyn's best friend. They lived a block from each other growing up and you seldom saw one without the other. Karen went into Eastern Airlines and when it folded she remained living out east. Now she lives in our hometown where she owns her own home and is developing her art by selling it in galleries. She does amazing collages and her color sense is wonderful. She is so practical that she could write a book on simplifying. No computer or TV and a refrigerator where you can actually see the shelves! Her home is minimalist, which I find fascinating. She reads a lot so is interested in everything.

A part of me will always be with these girls as an extended family that I will love forever. I hope we keep the traditon of the weekend slumber parties going through the years.