A Special Bond

Some people put their family above all, but to me, great friends are just as important, and I have to say I am blessed with many amazing friends that I have gathered throughout my life and that I consider part of my family. Some of my more recent friends are part of a special group that formed about five years ago, and has slowly been disintegrating, because its members are all moving away.
The group was  made up of dynamic, fun-loving, smart, beautiful young women and most of us shared a unique time of our lives together. When we first met, most of us were newlyweds. We would get together at monthly dinners where we all brought a dish we made, and a little bit of ourselves to share... The conversations were so much fun, we just couldn't wait for the next dinner. Then, we started talking about having babies, and month after month, we would start watching who was drinking wine and who was not...


in 2008, the five of us either had a baby or got pregnant

We all started getting pregnant and having babies, and we shared all of that too; we helped each other through the hard parts, the lack of sleep, the breastfeeding... and we delighted in each other's babies' births, first steps, and other milestones.

The "girls" visited when A was just a few weeks old

My best friend here in the US, who was part of the group, moved away when A was three months old. That departure was really hard for me. It's been almost two years now, and I still miss her daily. Four of us remained and got to see our children share special moments throughout their first and second years....

But after another year, one more left... and this year, a third is leaving. I write this post now because three of the group members got together today at my house, and it was a blast.

After our normal "warm up" period, the little ones played and laughed together, and the moms got to chat. Like all good things, it was too short, but it was so good to be together! It was a little bittersweet too, because only two of us will now remain here in Syracuse, and everybody else will be spread out around the country.

This group was unique because we met when we were all at similar points in our lives and we all "clicked". That kind of harmony does not happen everyday, so we should learn to cherish it when it happens. I can only hope that we manage to get together in the future, despite the distance, so we can keep our special bond going, and enjoy hearing our children laugh together for years to come.