Look how well we fit together

"Who should we hate this week?"  As we passed neatly tucked and folded notes from one girl to the next we talked about who was getting boobs, who stuffed their bra, and which person we thought was "gay" that week.  Our bangs sprayed high and our jeans tight rolled just above our look alike Keds.  Those were the days when each one of us tried as hard as we could to find a place in the clique.  As much as we wanted to deny there ever was one it was blatantly obvious to those around us that it was alive and thriving. 

"The friends you have now won't be the friends you will have when you grow up."  We heard that time and time again.  We vowed to be different.

Middle school, that oh so important time in a child's life where things get awkward from their hair, to their teeth, to their physique.  Weird looking kids always trying to look and act older than they were.  Hormones raged and there was a daily battle between being smart, funny, popular, and trying not to care so much. 

Who could really win?  If you were invited to the sleep over one week you shouldn't have counted on being invited the next week.  Turns out we were all in the same boat, fighting the same battles.  We were all fighting for the same position against each other while calling ourselves the best of friends.  Sounds pretty smart to me.  Boyfriends came and went.  This one this week, Cherryh's the next, Amanda's the week after that.  The cycle continued. 

In high school things started to spread out.  The daily boyfriend swap and power struggles didn't seem to be the main focus anymore.  Space was added between some.  Feelings were hurt, best friends changed.  Longer term boyfriends and school became the focus.  We'd meet up at the lunch table or in front of the lockers before school complaining about how early it was and how much we didn't want to be there or how we couldn't wait to see Coach Gassman.   

Somewhere in there a genuine bond was formed.  We went off to college, some far, some near.  We would have occasional meet ups at some one's dorm or when we all got back home.  Some would come, some wouldn't.  I was guilty of letting a little too much space grow as were others. 

Graduation, weddings, babies, life, miscarriages, adoptions, rough patches in our marriages, hurt and turmoil in our lives, losing loved ones.  These things came and what we started to fall back on was that core.  That core that saw us at our absolute worst and at our best and we gravitated to the core every time something got hard.  Slowly in the beginning, but more intense as life grew more stressful and wrinkles more vast.  As more prayers and confidants were needed we came together stronger.  Each of us making the effort to make get togethers happen and not lose touch. 

Now?  These are the ones I turn to.  These are the ones I love like my own family.  These are the ones I owe a lot to.  We did it.  We lived up to what we always said we would do.  We still lean on each other and call each other the best of friends.  We pray for each other and this is one of the main groups we turn to when life gets hard again or things need celebrated.  My girls.  I'm thankful for each one of you and extremely proud to call you my friends. 

And their kids?  We make some pretty damn good lookin kids!  You would think that twelve kids under the age of seven in one house would be torture.  For me it was a welcomed blessing.  They all did so well, acted so cordial.  Like they knew each other well even though some of them were strangers.  Look how well they fit together.  How well they cuddle the one next to them.  Happiness/contentment in each face.

Wyatt 5, Brooklyn 20 months, Lincoln 2, Waylon 3, Weston 1, Annie 3, Eliott 6, Brock 1, Julia 5, Gabe 4, Meghan 7 (almost 8), our Miracle Madi almost 5 months

I see the best of them in their miniatures...

and the best of them has morphed into so much more.  Once a ditsy teenage cheerleader that drove a yellow car and lost her keys far too many times turns out to be the one on the floor that all the babies look up to as she snuggles her pride and joy. Love you, Cher Bear!

I love my sister wives! Look how well we fit together.