Love & Friendship

This past Sunday one of my friends got married in a beautiful, rustic wedding in Massachusetts. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and the bride? Well, she was as gorgeous as ever. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day for her and her new husband. And I feel so blessed to have been able to be there to celebrate with her on her special day. 

And, the icing on the cake for this weekend? 

Also invited to the wedding was a handful of old friends who I haven't seen in years. Some of them it has probably been about 6 years since the last time our paths crossed - and that is insane to me. I cannot process how that much time passed so quickly and how much our lives have drifted apart. 

It was wonderful to reconnect and catch up with these guys. We used to spend every weekend fencing in local tournaments, traveling to national ones, and endless hours in the gym training and laughing and being your average middle-school/high-school obnoxious kids. 

Some things haven't changed, for the record. Put us all at a table together and turn up the music? It was like no time had passed at all. 

It just reminded me of just how important it is to keep the people who matter to you close. I strongly hope that it's not another six years, or another important event, that finds our lives once again brought together. Growing up, once people spread out in the world, you really do have to make the effort to reach out to the people who mattered to you when you were younger. To keep your ties to who you were as well as focusing on who you're intending to become. 

It really was a lovely wedding. I couldn't be happier for my friend as she and her husband move forward in their life together. They are wonderful, caring, and brilliant people who are completely in love and supportive of each other. 

And? They know how to throw one heck of a New England style party, as evidenced by this little guy:

Life has been relatively mundane lately. Summer is perfectly lazy and delectable and I couldn't ask for more. Especially when you throw in wonderful weekends like these, who could hope for anything better? Weekends surrounded by friends and love? I'll take the mundane of your average August day for weekends like these. 

So, here's to life, love, and friendship. May they grow within and between us every day.