Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’
— C.S. Lewis
Last Saturday, I left Harry at home with his Dad and flew to Chicago for some best friend R&R. My friend (nickname: The Little Lady) is getting married, and so myself and another BFF (nickname: Hot Mama) threw her a bachelorette party. Sadly for The Little Lady, it was less of a bachelorette party and more of a “Moms’ Night Out” (Hot Mama has two children under the age of three). I was ready to throw in the towel at 10:30, but at the end of our Mexican dinner, I got a second wind and knocked back Skinny Girl Margaritas until 1AM. At the end of the night, I was dizzy, but also proud of myself for staying up so late.
It was a far cry from how The Little Lady, Hot Mama, and I used to celebrate in college. Back then, things got started around 11PM and didn’t end until well into Sunday morning. Although things have slowed down considerably in the last decade, when I get together with these women, despite how long its been, it feels like no time has passed. We are right back in our dilapidated college apartment listening to each other laugh, cry, complain, celebrate, and gossip. The conversations have shifted—from boys we wanted to kiss and exams we had to take to wedding plans and potty training—but it doesn’t matter. Wherever I am in life, The Little Lady and Hot Mama always give me a fresh perspective. Hot Mama reminds me that I can’t take everything so seriously while The Little Lady makes sure I understand what’s at the core of my every concern. Their company last weekend made me realize that I need to make my girlfriends, even if they live thousands of miles away, a bigger priority in my life. Not that they weren’t a priority before, but in the last few years they’ve been buried beneath marriage, babies, school, and work. While all of that is important, it is also important to get away from it all and laugh at nothing with people who know you inside and out (and still, for some reason, love you).
Although nursing our Sunday hangovers wasn’t as easy as it was in college, it still felt like old times. We searched for the greasiest food we could find, lounged on the couch, flipped through the pages of Us Weekly, and bitched about The Real Housewives of New Jersey—something my husband refuses to do.
Saying goodbye on Monday morning was bittersweet. While I couldn’t wait to get back to my new apartment and give Ross and Harry big hugs and kisses, I also didn’t want the weekend to end. I didn’t want to say goodbye to The Little Lady and her sassy quips or Hot Mama’s words of wisdom. I felt a strong urge to kidnap them, stuff them into my suitcase and take them with me back to New York. Life would feel so well-rounded with them by my side at all times, but life isn’t fair and I only get to see the ladies on special occasions. Lucky for me, one of those occasions is coming up soon, and I don’t have to wait long to enjoy more time with these incredible woman.
Addie Morfoot is a freelance journalist at Daily Variety and is finishing her MFA in creative writing at The New School. Last year, her world turned upside down when she gave birth to her son Harry. Every other Monday, she writes about juggling work, school, marriage, and motherhood in the Big Apple.
