The Roles We Play

Whitney's the dreamer, the fun-loving baby of the group. Emily's the sweet and compassionate one - the teacher, extremely patient and great with children. Libby's the All-American athlete with the big heart, who goes with the flow and smiles her way through life.  (She also brings a lot of smiles to every life around her.)  Amanda had to grow up way too fast. She's the strong one, mature beyond her years, the one who moved away to leave a past behind her, the English major who thinks deeply, protects her heart, but treats those who she lets into her life like gold.

I'm not sure what that makes me.  If I had to say, I'd call myself the sentimental one, the keeper of memories and nostalgia, who keeps us organized and also expects deep conversation about things that matter.

Close friends are not all alike. I see this play out time and time again in my life, as often the people we click with most are able to bring something new and different from what we already know.  They challenge us, bring perspective, and help shape who we are.

This weekend completely reinforced all of this.  Spending time with Emily, Whitney, Libby and Amanda has always been awesome - but what I realized this weekend was how cool it is that we all come from different worlds - different ages, friend groups, personalities, and even general lifestyles, yet the great game of golf brought us together 13 years ago and since then, things have never been the same.

And here's the best realization from this weekend.  When I hang out with these girls, I find myself wanting to be more like each one of them.  I want to incorporate their best traits into who I am.  This happens with friends - as we can see Whitney growing up and successfully projecting into her career, Emily borrowing a chapter from Amanda's book of strength, and me trying to mellow out a bit and be more carefree like Libby.  I truly believe the roles we play are shaped by those around us, and if you're able to surround yourself with amazing people, I'm 99% confident life is going to be okay.

30 hours in the car plus another 52 hours in State College gave me this amazing outlook on the upcoming summer.  As my friend Crystal pointed out, yes, I am generally optimistic, but right now I feel so much positive energy and excitement about what's to come.  I'm sure subsequent entries will cover more of these thoughts in detail, but when I think about this weekend and what it meant to me, this is what I take away:

• Close friends are not all alike. Appreciate the differences; they are beyond valuable.
• As James Taylor says, "Shower the people you love with love; show them the way that you feel." We're pretty good at this, but it's great to ask yourself if you could be doing this any better.
• Be present in the moment. It's easy to get distracted by technology, obligations, buzz, gossip, swirling energy of all kinds, but TRY to be present in the situation. (Yes, with my short attention span I will be working on this one for awhile).
• Find balance in life. Don't try to cram in too much - take each day as it comes. Because of the surprise, we literally had nothing planned for the weekend, but once we arrived at Amanda's, it all fell into perfect place.
• Be the best YOU you can be. There's no better way to be.

As Whit said on the car ride home, "I think we rock."  That's because we each play our role, but borrow from one another when necessary.  We teach each other, bring out the best in each other, and as corny as it sounds, love each other for exactly WHO WE ARE.

Somewhere In Ohio

Right now four incredible girls are driving a truck somewhere in Ohio. With each exit they pass, and each state line they cross, they get one mile farther away from a fifth girl in Pennsylvania who is still making sense of two unforgettable days. Sometimes life is monotonous; sometime life is hard; and then sometimes life is absolutely glorious. My life, the last couple of days, has been absolutely glorious. This entry is a thank you to those four girls, somewhere in Ohio, who brought more happiness, from a thousand miles away, than they can ever imagine.

I will forever remember how I felt when I saw you ladies standing in the driveway as I was overcome by joy, surprise and the thought of is this really happening. And, while I will cherish that moment, it is the little things from the past two days that will firmly etch themselves into my memory.

From now on I won’t be able to walk through the grass by the alumni center without thinking that is where Libby gave us a breathing lesson. I will be reminded when I walk past the shops on College Ave. that store is where Whitney bought that adorable dress which is also right next door to the store where she got a bra stuck around her waist. I know that every time I walk up the Mall, towards the library, that on one special day in May I stood in that exact spot, looked at Allison, and got to share one of my favorite places in the entire world. Finally, each time I pass that awning outside Café 210 I will never forget I sat there and was witness to the strength and courage that lives inside of Emily.

I often say that I feel as though I live two different lives and now I actually no longer believe that to be true. In reality I have one life, one incredible life, and it is because of people like the four of you who are in it. If someone asked me, “If you were to identify the thing you are most grateful for what would be your answer,” it would take me less than a second to emphatically say: Friendship. When I say thank you for driving half way across the country, and making a surprise visit, I feel confident my appreciation resonates with each of you. Yet, one thing I am incapable of fully expressing is the whole-hearted gratitude I feel for the role you have in my life.

Your friendship provided me with comfort during my most trying times and now that I have had the opportunity to share my brightest of days with all of you a thank you doesn’t even come close to conveying my true thoughts. Yet, those two words are the only thing that I can say and please know I mean them with everything I have. So to those four girls in a truck you are a vital part of my past, but please know that your love and friendship are very much a part of my life today and most importantly a big part of my future.

(And for the record it took me so long to write this that I believe those four girls have both Ohio and Indiana in their rearview mirror. So hello Illinois and safe travels the rest of the way.)

Back home we go...

Wow, those are hard posts to follow. There are some good writers in this group. What an awesome weekend we had. Allison is the seasoned blogger and says that blogging is therapeutic. So I am not much of a writer but here goes my attempt at reflecting on the amazing weekend.

We talked on the way home that the whole weekend was very refreshing. We laughed a lot and it was so nice to spend time with people you feel so comfortable around. I know we have all changed over the past 10-13 years since we were teammates, but our personalities and funny quirks that we have gotten to know so well are still present :) I like to think of myself as someone who takes the time to appreciate things in life, but in actuality I often say I run around like a crazy person from one thing to the next. Well we had 30 hours to sit in the comfy truck to catch our breath, relax, dance, sing, and reflect. How could you not be entertained when you have Whit as the DJ doing tae-bo/dance moves through-out the ride?!?

And once we got to State College we were so excited we could barely stop talking..that is except for a few naps here and there. It seems like deeper conversations are an integral part of this group, which has brought us all a lot closer. These girls push me to think about answers to questions I don't think about very often (the good old "If" game). It was so nice to get a glimpse of Amanda's life out in PA. Below is one of Amanda's favorite spots on campus. We are looking pretty studious...

As we get older and life gets hectic it is harder to keep in touch with old friends. After a weekend like we had it is so worth making the effort to get together--old friends are definitely worth holding onto, especially these girls :) And you never know when getting together for dinner may lead to planning a crazy road trip out to PA.

Thank you so much ladies for pushing me to think outside the box and for showing me a weekend of such love and support.

And for the record coriander is my new favorite plant :)

Yesterday we were subpar... today we were rockstars.

Except for on the golf course. THAT was a bit painful. Yesterday we had pitchers of various flavors of long islands - from pomegranate to blueberry.  Out of the six of us, I finished mine third (pretty proud of that one).

After that, we hobbled around for a bit before needing to nap (well at least some of us).  It had been a 15 hour drive, plus the adrenaline from the surprise, and it was just time to crash!!

TODAY, however, we managed to rally the troops, and after an amazing strawberry / banana pancakes (made by our chef/host Chris), we hiked up Mount Nittany.  This 0.5 mile hike should have been easy.  Well for some of us (marathon runners) it went fine, but apparently my lung capacity is struggling. 

Here is a shot of me asking, "Are we only halfway?!"

These girls were totally fit and it was awesome to get to the top of the overlook, seeing all of State College below us!

Here is the truck - the namesake of our blog.  The secret is that it's really five girls, five absolutely amazing girls, but since Amanda didn't know of our plans until we showed up on her doorstep, the story begins with the four of us.

This one here is from the drive out, basically how Libby and I slept through the night.  Emily was the true rockstar on the drive, handling the first 10 hours of the trip!  What?! WAY TO GO, Em!! (Lib and I were pretty cozy in the backseat - aside from her concerning leg cramps, it was quite comfy.)

I have seriously not felt so much warmth, love and happiness around the nostalgia that is Stillwater High School until this weekend.  This has truly brought me back to so many important, monumental moments in my life, but even more importantly, the little ones.  Laying on the grass while my friend tees off.  Eating ice cream together.  Trying not to throw clubs.  The camaraderie and jokes that these girls provide in my life.  While it's been over 10 years since we spent every spring weekday together after school, this weekend has showed me that we can go months, even years, and jump right back into it.  I think I already knew that, but the reinforcement has been beyond words. !!!

Time for a fancy grilled out meal, some good drinks (including the ever popular Windmiller) and then another night of games.  Competitive? This group? It'd be hard not to imagine. 

Libby and the Ribs

Libby is teaching us physical therapy techniques!! Apparently we all have higher left ribs except Emily, who is super human and breathes perfectly. I need to remember these key things- keep the ribs down! Take pressure off your back. Focus on engaging the oblique muscles! Less back work. :) Libby, this time on the Penn State lawn is perfect, and we so value your expertise!!

Penn State!

We are having an amazing start to our trip!! Penn State is beautiful. Check it out!!
Then we went to the store to get our gear, including this HOT sweatshirt. AND had lunch at Cafe 210 which servers pitchers of long island teas- we each ordered one! (mine was blueberry). :)

The Fifteenth Hour...

Well people, we've made it. Here's a pic I took as we hit the fifteenth hour in the bright red Ford truck (complete with topper), just 24 miles outside State College! During the last hour, we could hardly contain ourselves.  We were giddy, listening to pump up music, including one of my favorites, Ghetto Cowboy.

The golf girls are together again - complete with Amanda in her favorite location on Earth.  STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA!  We're here!

More to come,
Allison (and Whitney, Libby, Emily, and guest of honor Amanda)