Not the cupcakes (delicious as they were). Or the beach drinks (refreshing as they were). Or the seafood (awesome as it was). But time with my camp buddies. Good for the mind. Good for the heart. Good for the soul.As I flew out of Orlando on Monday morning I was weary (from a 4 a.m. wake-up call to drive to the airport) but totally refreshed. There is just something about old friends and the ability to get back together after so many years and pick up right where we left off and retrace well-worn memories and create new ones that, as a relatively new (but already dear) friend of mine said, seems to make all of the energy worthwhile.
Marion flew in from New York...and we celebrated her upcoming wedding. Christa "Stumpf" flew in from Ohio (although I still think of her as coming from Idaho b/c she lived there so long)...and we celebrated her little girl that is on the way (and tried to help name her and took bets on when she'll actually be born! I'm pulling for June 9...and a tin of King Leo lemon or vanilla sticks!). Susan and Isla flew in from Tennessee. And Christa "Furtsch" and her mom, Linda, drove down from North Carolina. All of us in Daytona (woo-hoo!) for a long weekend to celebrate BIG moments that are happening in the lives of Marion and Stumpf...but also all of the little moments that have made up our friendships for 27+ years. Yes, that's right. These are by far my longest friends. The girls who have seen me in my most wonderful and least wonderful moments. The girls who I laughed with on summer nights with a sky full of stars up above us as we spun around on the fun field or tried (without luck) to go cow tipping. The girls who I jumped in the cold, scummy lake with at camp and who I pulled pranks with. The girls who accepted me as an "odd man out" Californian into their southern camp. The girls who were the "sisters" that my mom thought an only child needed. My bunkmates and teammates. Riding partners and flagline buddies. The ones who I could cry to...and the ones whom to this day can make me laugh so hard that I will cry. And we did a lot of that this weekend!
Marion flew in from New York...and we celebrated her upcoming wedding. Christa "Stumpf" flew in from Ohio (although I still think of her as coming from Idaho b/c she lived there so long)...and we celebrated her little girl that is on the way (and tried to help name her and took bets on when she'll actually be born! I'm pulling for June 9...and a tin of King Leo lemon or vanilla sticks!). Susan and Isla flew in from Tennessee. And Christa "Furtsch" and her mom, Linda, drove down from North Carolina. All of us in Daytona (woo-hoo!) for a long weekend to celebrate BIG moments that are happening in the lives of Marion and Stumpf...but also all of the little moments that have made up our friendships for 27+ years. Yes, that's right. These are by far my longest friends. The girls who have seen me in my most wonderful and least wonderful moments. The girls who I laughed with on summer nights with a sky full of stars up above us as we spun around on the fun field or tried (without luck) to go cow tipping. The girls who I jumped in the cold, scummy lake with at camp and who I pulled pranks with. The girls who accepted me as an "odd man out" Californian into their southern camp. The girls who were the "sisters" that my mom thought an only child needed. My bunkmates and teammates. Riding partners and flagline buddies. The ones who I could cry to...and the ones whom to this day can make me laugh so hard that I will cry. And we did a lot of that this weekend!
I arrived in a bit of a surreal state around 1:40 a.m. on Saturday after a long evening of traveling from Austin to Orlando and then driving to Daytona. What was funniest to me was that upon arriving at Furtsch's house I made sure that I was in the right place before I crawled into the sofa bed that had been nicely made for me. I was 99.9% sure that this was the house but I had a quick moment where I thought, "What if you wake up in the wrong house? How funny would that be!" Took a quick peek around and found a notebook on the kitchen table with "WATAUGA" rubbed out in pencil on the front. Yep. My team at camp...go green and gold!...I was in the right place.
Mornings came around early on Saturday and Sunday but they didn't move too quickly. I honestly have no idea how many pots of coffee we went through on the back porch with the sun beating down on us before we wandered down to the beach for walks, jogs, sea shell collecting, sand dollar searching, or just lounging and talking. We did the most of the latter. Sometimes as a group. Sometimes in twos or threes. Every time with open ears and hearts as we got caught up on our lives. We did laugh that we moved as a group for fear of being talked about by the others! (We were just kidding...sort of...I actually think that none of us wanted to miss out on anything.)
Seafood dinners... delicious cupcakes to celebrate the mom- and bride-to-be... pretty sunrises and sunsets... we really did enjoy one another's company. And as I sit here back in Austin I'm reminded that it IS worth making the effort to get to "reunions" like this. That it IS possible maintain friendships across the miles and the years. That is IS important to take in some soul food from time to time to nourish you. Thanks to Marion, Stumpf, Furtsch, Isla, Susan, and Linda for a great weekend...and for the many years of friendship, love, and support. Here's to many, many more...and to the next time we're together. 
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