So wrong yet so right

I spent the weekend walking down memory lane. I traveled back to Muncie, Indiana for a reunion with my old playgroup friends...
I love these girls. Every single one of them...


The purpose of this reunion was more than just catching up. It was to honor our friend Randi, who died unexpectedly on April 1st.

The trip was everything that I hoped it would be. We laughed...
We cried...

(Obviously, it was ugly crying)

We were silly and didn't act our age......
Though there were times that we were reminded of true our age, like when I got stuck in this position with a cramp...
Thanks Tam, for capturing the moment on film...

We were well-fed...
My new dearest love is on the bottom of that pile-o-meat, bacon-wrapped hot dogs on the grill. (I will eat them on a train. I will eat them in the rain. I will eat them in a boat. I will eat them with a goat...) And a close second, smores made with a resee's peanut butter cup and cinnamon graham crackers...
My roomies surprised me with an early 40th birthday party in the hotel room...
But the pinnacle of the trip was a remembrance time for Randi that was beyond beautiful. Which was fitting since that is exactly what Randi was. We shared verses, memories, poems, and what Randi meant to each of us. And then we each chose a word that we thought represented her and wrote it on a little card. We each chose different words to try to capture this lovely person. I chose PURE. Then we attached them to balloons and let them go in her old back yard. They were headed straight for trees and power lines, but they somehow dodged them both and floated away...

I will never forget that moment.

These women are precious to me. It was interesting to see how each of us had changed and the journeys we have walked in the 7 years since we had all been together, and yet how we were still the same.

It was so right to be reunited again, yet so wrong that Randi wasn't with us. It was fitting that Randi was the one who brought us together again, even if she couldn't be a part of the fun. She was just like that. Always seeking the good of others. She exemplified selfless love.

We had a meaningful and fun time together. But we missed you, Randi...
We always will.