things change, things remain the same

This seemed to be a recurring theme during my trip. Things change, things remain the same. I hadn't been back to the US in more than 15 months, there were lots of friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Some were now married, had kids, bought a house, etc, but things didn't really feel all that different.

Madison Beer Festival - 2009

This was especially true for a long weekend with my Louisville girlfriends Jojo and Katie on Lake George in upstate New York. I hadn't seen either of them in more than a year, and both had babies I have never met (Jojo's first and Katie's second). The last time the 3 of us had been together Katie was 14 weeks pregnant with her first.

Now just pics of the kids - not us.

But we immediately melted into the normalcy true of great friendships. Things had changed a lot of all of us in many ways - starting families, big moves - lots of life changes. But nothing felt different. Everything felt natural and perfect.

One of the things I enjoyed most was just watching how both of my friends parent. Parenting is deeply personal, everyone does it different, everyone has different kids. But it was great to really see them in action, and know that I greatly admire them for what great mothers they are. It only deepened my sense that these women are my life-long friends. It's highly unlikely that any of us will ever live in the same city again, but that's just life. I will settle for skype dates and phone calls, and always look forward to the next reunion whenever and wherever it may be!

More pics here.