Reunion, 2012

I spent this weekend in Chicago with five of my favorite women. I've written about it here and here, and after the late nights and my continued food hangover (somehow I feel hungover even though I didn't enjoy the cocktails), I'm sure these old posts are more poetic than I could dream of being now. I am always at a bit of a loss for words when it comes to describing how I feel about these girls and my time with them. I am so blessed.

A candid shot before the pose...the best photo of them all.

A Sprite magnet for all of us from Amy (Sprite was the name of the house we lived in our Senior year).

This year we reconvened in Chicago at Amy's place. As usual, we all brought various forms of decadent snacks and drinks to enjoy throughout the weekend. As usual, we stayed up late talking and laughing our asses off. We keep a running list of note-worthy quotes from each reunion, and I'm pretty sure we had a page filled by the end of the first night. We meandered around Andersonville on Saturday morning, eating and shopping and being girls together. We drank cocktails (or mocktails) at The Violet Hour. The list could go on and on.

Nearly every year we are together, there is a reason to celebrate something special. On Saturday afternoon, I was "sprinkled," or showered. A sprinkle is a smaller version of a shower given for the births of second or third children; however, it felt grand to me. The girls came up with a Mother Earth theme, so all of the gifts were eco-friendly, organic, or literally, green. While the material gifts were just perfect for our family, the celebration itself was the best gift. It meant so much to formally celebrate this little guy's life, especially in this venue, after all that's been happening.

The requisite puppy chow picture. I ate my weight in this stuff this year. 

 A very special shower gift from the girls, to be planted in our yard this weekend.

 The Violet Hour. No sign. Camouflaged door. Unbelievable drinks and atmosphere. I will be back here someday.

I arrived home last night typically full, both physically and emotionally. I can't wait until we all get together again.