Life's Abiding Friendships

Tara, Sarah, Shantel, me & Becky
(notably absent is Laurel).

Though my life has changed over the past 17 years, there is one thing that hasn't: my friendship with the incredible women above. Many (many) hours were spent in college poring over music, rehearsing shows, studying, crying over some dumb guy - or trying to figure out how to get the guy, laughing together, eating together (okay, drinking together). We know each other's parents, siblings, family histories, and worst of all, dating histories! Our conversations now center much more around our children, husbands, ex-husbands, jobs, and the joys and sorrows of our lives as adults. As our dear friend Shayne told me just recently, "You live life deeply; and you may get hurt doing it, but I know you wouldn't have it any other way".

My Centennial Singers friends, whom I met the week before my freshman year of college started, are a group of people who live life deeply. They love deeply, laugh deeply, and live life - and all of its trials - with a deep committment to God and their true selves. This is what is hard to find in life. This is why we are still so close today. It is why we can reconcile who we were 15 years ago with who we are now and find not contradiction, but growth in spirit and in self.

I love these people madly, and was blessed to have about 15 of them (plus spouses and children) in our home this past weekend. We came together from Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, Connecticut and all over Colorado. Our children had the time of their lives, and we grew up a little as we turned the performing over to them. And, "I don't want to name any names, but Laurel Peterson Wicke..." was deeply missed, in true Singers fashion.

Turning it over to the next generation: