Because you gotta have friends

One of my first posts (WOW! I just realized I've been blogging for a year!) was about my inability to retain friends (too bad I don't have this same problem with water and food).

This past weekend made me realize I was wrong. Saturday the fam and I spent the day with a group of six friends at one of our friend's house in the mountains of Virginia--also known as Bum Fuck Egypt.

My family has been to BFE before, but we still laughed at the driving directions because you know anytime directions include the phrase "turn left at the road that has no name" you're going out in the middle of nowhere. Just so you know, the middle of nowhere is an awesome place to be.

The friend, I'll call him Hutch ; ), has a house at the end of a winding gravel road with a creek running through the front yard. It was Heaven. Peaceful, relaxing and just wonderful.

Anyway back to the friend topic. I worked with two of the girls, B and T (to protect their privacy) going on 8 years ago. We've not actually worked together for four years but we've kept in touch through sporadic lunches, get togethers at someone's house and of course emails. While we worked together we met Sneal (to protect his privacy). He worked down the hall and we'd often sneak down to his office and hang out because he had a sofa and we could hide from our boss. Hutch is B's significant other (I never know what to call him because they've been together for like a million years but they aren't married and they don't necessarily live together all the time, boyfriend just seems not quite enough) and Sneal had his wife there and T's significant other was there as well as my Hubby and the kids. There is another part of this group, Chrusty and her husband and kids, but they've moved out of state and we don't see them that often.

When this group gets together it's always fun. Usually my Hubby and Chrusty's husband are the trouble makers--nothing is too taboo to say or do. We have been known to play Strip Scrabble for example. Regardless of how long it's been since we've seen or talked to each other we always fall back into that comfortable rhythm you have with people you love and like. They are my family.

This particular visit the boys enjoyed some questionable spirits (aka moonshine); the Hubby then napped in the hammock and serenaded us all with his bull-frog snoring; Hutch and B took turns taking the kids on rides on their four-wheeler; the kids played in the creek; we enjoyed photos of T's trip to Italy; watched Sneal take a nap in a chair and I showed off my tatt : )

I have some great friends and I guess all in all I can keep friends, even if I don't work with them or see them every day.

Yeah Me!