"What I'm Thankful For"

I feel like I need to do a reflective essay entitled "What I'm Thankful For" and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I just might. I mean, I will.

Some people (hopefully most) know what it's like to have a good friend, maybe even a best friend, and maybe even more than one of either of those. I'm not bragging, but I am one of those people.

You see, many years ago, a group of high-school juniors decided to escape the self-inflicted table assignments and stupid gossip of the lunchroom. They went outside for fresh air and good company. Ten years later they still get together for fresh air and good company.

Two weekends ago the Rollers (yes we are awesome enough to have a name), had a reunion of sorts to celebrate our years of friendship as a group. I specify "as a group" because the friendships go back way longer.

Bonnie happens to hold the lucky title of "relative and friend." Her dad and my mom are first cousins and we go to the same family reunions. And I have gone to school with Beth since kindergarten, Brittany since fourth grade, and Jeta, Mimi, and Tucker since freshman year of high school.

Bonnie, Beth, Brittany,

Jeta, Tucker, Mimi,

and Me (for good measure)

So technically I'm celebrating a lifetime of friendships. I wouldn't be who I am, where I am, or anything in between without them.

We all met at Tucker's house in Raleigh, NC and it was the first time in a year and a half that all seven of us had been together at the same time. I apparently was so excited for the weekend that I was acting unusually giddy for the days leading up to it. Rightfully so. These are ladies that know how to have a good time. And not in the usual ways.

I'm going to go ahead and say that the number one goal of the weekend might have been to go to a bar with a mechanical bull. (Not my idea, but I'm a team player.) And I played. Twice. It was one of the funniest nights I've had in a long time.

It turns out it's really embarrassing, but also really fun.

We also played a great game that I feel inclined to share because maybe someday you will find the need for a cheap, time consuming, and super fun activity. Here's how it goes: Everyone has a ten dollar budget. Start at a thrift store and choose one item on which to build a wearable work of art. Go to a craft store with your remaining dollars and buy whatever else you need to create your masterpiece. Spend the afternoon crafting together and then wear your outfits at dinner. (Preferably in the comfort of a private dwelling, like your house.)

Example: Tucker during and after

It just goes to show that a) we still like to dress up and b) any kind of entertainment will do when we are together.

So I'm thankful for my friends.

For the laughs

,

the listening

,

the cooking

,

the fire hooping

,

the bull riding

and bar dancing

,

the creativity

,

the sincerity

,

the surprises

,

and the love

.

I know I'm getting cheesey, but if you knew these girls the way I do, then you would be too.

View, if you dare, more photos from the weekend of celebrating ten years as Rollers. Before you click, I will warn that there are a lot. I put them all up for the Rollers' sake.