The Golden Girls

My grandmother always told me that the older you get, the faster time goes.  At the time I thought that was impossible, but now I know that, like most things she told me, she was right.  Another year has come and gone and this evening marked a yearly event that I always look forward to......the Golden Girl's Christmas party at my house.

A lot of years ago I dubbed the four of us the "golden girls".   We four old friends met for dinner at my house one summer evening when everyone was in town.  At the time two of us were living in town, one in Florida and one in Phoenix.  My husband snapped our picture to mark the event.   Later, when I was looking for a card to tuck a picture into for each of them, I came upon cards with the "Golden Girls" on them; we've been the golden girls ever since.  

These are women I've known since girlhood.  We all grew up in the north end of Mansfield, went to Mansfield Senior High School, married about the same time.  For the most part we swooned over the same neighborhood boys, went to the Friendly House dances, and shared the same growing pains.   Now, all these years later, several husbands have come and gone, kids have grown up and provided us with beautiful grandchildren, we've comforted one another through the loss of parents, loss of siblings, and the loss of a child.

   

Once a month I count on the counsel and support of these three special friends of mine.  We share our complaints, our triumphs and our tragedies over angel hair pasta and iced tea.  More importantly we share our memories.   These are three faces that always light up at the site of the fourth coming through the door, always looking forward to hearing what each of us has been up to.  These are the golden girls.

Ours is not an intrusive friendship.  In between these monthly dinners we seldom see one another, and except for the occasional email or phone call we usually don't talk in between.  But in a way I think that's what makes our monthly meal a special time to catch up and renew our friendship.  The fact that we are not on the phone every day doesn't detract from the knowledge that if any of us needs the others, we will all be there in a heartbeat.

                                                                     Golden Girls
                                 Ellen Matthews    Diana Coon     Chris Butler      Becky Myers
                                                                   Molly the wonder dog



And so this evening we shared a "retro dinner" at my house, right out of 1965, with subs from the Leaning Tower, Jones Potato Chips, and Pepsi.  We exchanged gifts and stories and laughter; four women who are in touch with their shortcomings, and celebrating their strengths.  These are women as individual as snowflakes, and I love each of them dearly.

It seems to me that it was just a few months ago that the four of us were wearing bobby socks and wrapping our boyfriends class rings with angora yarn....talking about Fabian and wondering if Ricky Nelson would sing in the weekly episode of Ozzie and Harriett.   The time has gone by at a decidedly faster clip as I've aged, just as my Grandmother said it would.  I cannot hold time back, but I can hold my friendships and my family dear and try to remind myself to be grateful for every moment.

Christmas has always been the stake in the ground that marks the passage of my life.  For some reason it’s an emotional season, where losses are harder and gains are greater.  It makes me understand that one of the greatest gifts anyone can receive is an evening with old friends, and the hope of many more.
Merry Christmas, my friends……….Life is good.