A bittersweet night out

I had an awesome time last night.  My three best girlfriends and I left our children and husbands to fend for themselve while we went out. We felt very "Sex & the City," LOL. We dressed up, went to dinner at a cool restaurant, and bar-hopped a bit before settling in at one of our favorite places--a favorite from our long ago lives without children, that is. We had lots of good girl-talk while trying our hardest not to talk about our children. We had too much to drink. And unfortunately, we said our goodbyes, because two of these wonderful women are moving away next week.

I've never had a group of friends like this, and I am going to miss them so much. Laura, Amanda, Jane, and I originally met at LLL and bonded quickly because we all had babies within 6 weeks of each other. In the last year we've gone to AP and LLL together, held our own little "baby playgroup," fixed yummy lunches together, drank gallons of coffee, talked on the phone, checked-up on each other after a bad day, and commiserated about sleepless nights, teething pains, and annoying husbands. We come from varied backgrounds, have individual strengths and weaknesses, and take slightly different approaches to our AP style, which made the "getting to know you" process even more fun (and surprising). The subtle differences have been one of the best things about our friendship, because each woman is a valuable resource in her own right, with distinct opinions and advice that add to the richness of the group.

I'm not sure what it's going to be like after Amanda and Jane move away next week. The loss of either one of them would be hard, but the fact that both are moving within 24 hours, one to Washington and one to Illinois, is even harder. I know Laura and I will keep getting together, but our playgroups are going to seem way too quiet and empty for a long time...

There's so much more I want to say about these wonderful women, about how it's not the end of the world because we can still keep in touch, and about how I'm trying not to be sad that they're leaving but instead be happy that I was blessed with this amazing group of friends for as long as I was... but it's just not happening tonight. Talking about it means I have to face reality and I'm finding it too hard to do. I'm not good at goodbyes, I don't like change, and I really just want to exist in that perfect little bubble for a while longer. So thank you, Jane and Amanda, for everything you have brought into my life and everything you have meant to me in the last year. I love you both.