Laughed in my pretty bed of green

After a few months of complaining that my social life is taking a huge hit, I had a weekend packed with more activity and old friends than I knew what to do with. It was, in a word, fabulous.

I relived high school days with friends at a cabin on Friday and Saturday. It was controlled chaos, the exact reaction you'd expect from cramming 10 stir-crazy entry level workers in a cabin with an unlimited supply of beer and (it must be said) ninja action games. I also learned that I am as miserable at frisbee drinking games as I am at beer pong. I hit a dog, a few trees and a grill but never the poles I was aiming for. Everyone was very nice, and I even managed to secure a few re-do rules that were exclusive to me. Suckers.

On Saturday, I spent five hours in the car with one of those HS buddies in what had to be the most inspiring conversation I've had in years. Road trips can create a false sense of intimacy, but this was the perfect balance of comfort and trepidation. I even came out with some fabulous music suggestions, which were oh-so-welcome because while I love my friends, I do not love their affinity for pop music.

Sunday was spent with the boys from Madison, in town for the weekend. We sat around Calhoun answering questions that only J. Vox could come up with ("Have you killed more ants in your life on purpose or on accident?") as they all recuperated from their hangovers. Aside from the geography, it was an all-too-familiar affair.

Sunday night barbecue with the fam, which apparently includes my little brother's gf these days. She's adorable enough that I'm genuinely not embarrassed to be seven years older and rolling in single for family get togethers.

Breakfast Monday with Mike, the first one-on-one interaction since the split. We skim the surface of one another's lives and then the bill arrives, cueing our exit. A flood of emotion comes on as I pull away, and it's hard to pinpoint the exact feeling I am experiencing. It is perhaps a bittersweet realization of the calming effect he had on my life when he was a bigger part of it. Every spaz needs a voice of reason, and for two years he was mine. It's clear I need a platonic left brainer in my life to balance me out again. 

A quiet picnic with Joel followed later on Monday. I am so glad that we have hit a level of friendship where an afternoon of introspection isn't confused for a bad mood or a crack in the dynamic. I am excited for a summer shared with him in Minneapolis, and already dreading his move to Nashville.

Met up with J and Em for a night of bad tv and weekend story sharing. Three is never a crowd with us.

I'm so grateful for friends like these, and for what is shaping up to be an amazing summer. On my radar are trips to see the friends that weren't present this weekend, and emails to send to the ones that are too far away to visit.