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Eleven years is a long time.

In that time…
I’ve had nine different hair stylists.
I’ve had seven jobs.
I’ve had six addresses.
I’ve had three major relationships.
I’ve had two friends pass away.

And there for it all; five girls.

Saturday was eleven years to the day since the six of us walked across the stage at Red Rocks to get our diplomas. I remember looking at my classmates and wondering who I would still be in touch with down the road. But with those five girls, I never wondered.

Our little crew assembled during our sophomore year of high school... although some of us had known each other back when you’d put a quarter in your ‘Roos for milk money. We were all very different in high school. Some of us had serious boyfriends and some of us just pillaged the baseball team from a neighboring high school. Some of us came from broken homes and some of us had parents who had been together forever. Some of us came from big families and some of us were only children.

Amber was (and still is) the singer in the group. The five of us would be in the audience at the Spring Musical cheering her on. Becki was the Pom. Senior year she was the captain of the Pom squad and was robbed of the championship because of the Russian judge. Ok, so I don’t know if the judge was Russian but there was something about an out-of-bounds step and BCHS was robbed. Beth was the editor of the yearbook and thanks to her, the 1994 yearbook is littered with pictures of us. Karen was the captain of the gymnastics team and played in the band…which was the totally cool thing to do at Bear Creek. Or at least that’s what Karen told her sorority sisters at OU. Kristina was the cheerleader and the clubhouse at her pool was usually where most of our hijinks ensued.

Over the years, we’ve had a lot of things happen that could have ended our friendship. None of us went to college together. Some of us joined sororities and some of us didn’t. Five of us left Colorado at one point or another. We all work in very different fields. Three of us are married; three are single. We’ve had some really serious fights and some really dumb fights.

Saturday night I had dinner with four of the girls…Beth was in Cali and missed much. Kristina was in town from Nash Vegas and Becki was in from San Fran. The five of us sat there and caught up on everything over crab wontons, Kung Pao scallops and a variety of drinks. Later that night we headed to the patio at Lime to enjoy the warm weather as well as the mojitos and margaritas. We talked about our lives now and laughed about things that happened back in the day. I sat there thinking about everything that we've been through together and how lucky I am to call these girls my friends.

Sometimes the time between phones calls is too long. And sometimes the time between visits is too long. But I know no matter what happens in my life, I have five girls who will always have my back. And as I get older, I’ve come to realize what a gift that is.

God may have a sick sense of humor when it comes to the men I’ve been sent, but when it comes to my friends, he’s outdone himself.