My girls

July 18, 2009
The thought of attending my 10 year high school reunion this summer spurred a lot of memories, questions, and even a few regrets. I'm still not sure if I'm going to actually go to the HS reunion or not, but when I realized how long it had been since I'd seen some of my friends I was kind of sad that I hadn't kept in touch with them better. But even more pressing on my mind was that the girls whom I really loved and wanted to have in my life again weren't even the ones I'd see at my HS reunion. Who I really wanted to re-connect with again were the girls I had grown up with, my Young Women's group (leaders too). They made me a better person, made me laugh, cry, and learn to love and sacrifice for others. They were the ones who were there with me on those long, horrible, legendary girls' camp hikes, sitting around the campfire sharing their testimonies with me, talking about boys, life, and our dreams. They listened to me when no one seemed to care and could see the real me even when I was totally lost in my life. I remember as Laurel President feeling like a mother hen must with her chicks. I wanted to shelter them from any dangers and didn't want them to ever feel like they weren't of worth. I loved them and called them "my girls" even though I was only a few years older than most of them. When Carri died, those of us at her funeral made a promise to not wait until the next one of us died before seeing each other again. Thus began the months of searching for the "core" YW group. On Saturday we had our first, of hopefully many, annual YW reunions (next year we're going to expand though and have a "anyone who was ever in the 6th ward YW/YM reunion... that is if I can find everyone). I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen most of my girls since I graduated high school and now they are all grown up! We've got married, had babies, gone to college, started careers, teach Primary, battled cancer, traveled around the country, and had so many life adventures! You know it's a special person in your life if you can go years without seeing each other but then pick up right where you left off. It was like we'd never grown up, moved away, and lost touch with each other. I just wish everyone would have made it to the reunion because I felt so refreshed, so alive, and ready to be a better person after seeing my girls again. Here's to next year!