Some things never change

This has been a whirlwind week!  A week ago today, my sister arrived in St. Louis to help me pack up my stuff and move home to DC for the summer.  5 days ago we started our cross-country road trip, and 4 days ago I slept in my own bed.  With one day of downtime, we then hosted the first (annual?) reunion of Cabell 104 + Sarah (aka Snuggles).

I have been so blessed to have these four girls (Jessica, Cathy, Steph, and Margaret Ann) for the past five years.  They have been a constant source of love, encouragement, advice, accountability, and community.  After spending four years at W&M together, we went our separate ways last fall.  Cathy moved to Philly to be a TFA teacher, Margaret Ann moved to Nashville to study Education at Vandy, Jess moved to Lexington to study International Relations at UK, Steph moved home to the DC area to pursue a career in government, and I moved out to St. Louis.  So this is the first time that I have seen any of these ladies in person (except Jessica, of course) in a year.  That's a very long time.

Things that Never Change:
Jessica's Facial Expressions.

Seeing them all again got me thinking about time and life, and this is probably about to make no sense and be very introspective.  But just a few things I've been thinking about...

Things that Never Change:
Snuggling.

It doesn't feel like it's been a year since I've graduated from W&M and seen these dear friends of mine.  It feels like we were all there completing the triathlon just yesterday.  But at the same time, it feels like I've made deep connections in St. Louis, and that part of my life feels very "normal" - like I've been there for awhile.  It is not uncommon for me to say that college feels like it was in another life.  It's kind of confusing experiencing time in both of these ways at the same time.  In a similar train of thought, do you ever feel like you live multiple different lives?  I'm not talking about the phenomenon where someone is a completely different person depending on the social situation, and does not have an integrated sense of self.  I feel like I am pretty much the same (with of course some minor adjustments depending on how comfortable I am) in each of my environments/"homes" (Ashburn, Williamsburg, St. Louis).  But each of these lives sometimes feels so disconnected from the others, so it's weird when they intersect.  For example, while I loved having Jessica come visit me in St. Louis, it was kind of an out of body experience, seeing her in an environment that I do not usually associate with her.  Does that make sense?  It was like worlds colliding.  This weekend was similar for me.  In the course of a week, I've transitioned in and out of 3 "homes:" St. Louis --> Ashburn --> Williamsburg (represented by the Cabell 104 girls) --> Ashburn.  And while this didn't necessarily feel unusual, it did dawn on me that I should be aware of when I make these transitions between "homes."  Anyways, just what I've been thinking about of late...

Lunch with Meghan Moore!

Back to this weekend.  It was so good to just sit and talk with these ladies for hours on end.  We could catch up on our lives, but also just experience each other in a way that you can't do over Skype.  I loved that we all could just pick up where we left off.  We still relate to each other in the same ways, and even though we are all grown up now living separate lives in separate states, we still have a strong connection grounded in love.

Some things never change.