9 years ago

The other day I got a text from my dorm room roommate from first year.  Her text simply said that we met nine years ago today.  :)  She remembers the first day she moved into residence, and she and her dad passed a girl in the hall.  After looking up, smiling, and saying hello to the girl and her parents, they continued on down the hall as her father said "now those are true farmers".   A few minutes later, in her dorm room she realized that the girl she passed in the hall was me!  How did we get so lucky to room together for first year and to have so many similarities in our upbringing, our home life, and our interests?

Then this past weekend, two of the other girls that we lived with in residence came up to visit and to meet my baby girl for the first time.  We were reflecting on 9 years ago and it really made me miss my uni days.

I was fortunate enough to have a fabulous university experience, and I attribute most of that to the group of friends that I had while away at school.  Not only was I lucky enough to have some of my best friends from high school attend the same university, but I also met an amazing group of ladies in residence who I lived with for two subsequent years in a house. 

I remember when planning for second year, having to make the difficult decision to either live with my girls from home, or take a leap and live with new friends that I had met.  After much deliberation, I chose to live with the new girls.  I knew that my high school friends would always be my friends as they had been for years and we were all from the same home town.  But I also realized that you need to put time and effort into new friendships to continue building a foundation for a life long friendship. 

So many years later, I can say how happy I am that I made that decision.  For two years, I lived in a home with 8 girls.  Crazy, I know.  But we loved it.  We had many late night chats, "family meals", road trips, study dates, did pranks on each other, watched Family Feud together, shared childhood stories, hosted parties, and the list goes on....

Who would have thought that this group of girls would be able to keep in touch.  With two girls moving out of province, and one of our girls a long drive away, it leaves four of us who are within a 3 hour drive.  We try to get together as often as we can.  Having a couple of reunions each year, we try to get whoever we can under the same roof.  Of course, with three weddings under our belt, that is an instant excuse for bachelorette parties, showers, and wedding celebrations.

One night last summer I was together with my first year roommate (my bridesmaid and one of my best friends), and after a bit of confusion, and a lot of laughs, we realized that we were both pregnant - and only 6 weeks apart.  How amazing to be able to share something like that with a close friend.  We now both have beautiful little girls, and we often talk about then growing up together as great friends - just like their moms.

I feel so lucky and fortunate to have met these wonderful ladies nine years ago.  When you combine them with my friends from home, I feel like my cup overflows. 

Yet another reason she lived happily ever after.