Ties That Bind

As the sweltering and balmy summer temperatures settle in the DC area, it feels as if that dreadful winter of 2009 never happened. The picture of my car buried unrecognizable in three feet of snow is now a distant memory. Time really flies. This week, I got an e-mail from Jen, one of my closest high school friends (there were four of us who kept close until now), and found out that she's on the family way and a wedding is in the plans. Jen asked if I could help with the planning. I am very excited and happy for her, yet I feel a little sad that I have to let go of another friend. There's only two of us left in the singles realm.

As I browse through the samples of online wedding invitations to help Jen decide with the design she wants, it finally hit me that our lives will never be the same again. Back then, we worried about exams, quizzes or where and when the group will hang out for the weekend; now, we occupy ourselves with work, weddings, relationships, baptisms, birthdays and more. I have come to appreciate that we're all grown up and that we have to live our own lives, but there are two things that will bind us forever - the good old memories and our  friendship.