The Sashes

I had the most wonderful lunch with my former girl group "The Sashes" today. Okay, we weren't really a girl group, but we had BIG (imaginary) plans to be. I think we had a title for our first record album back in the day, but I don't remember what it was now. We got our name because for a while -- follow me on the one -- we were into wearing sashes. I don't know what to tell you. It was the 80s and we liked to dress creatively. Roberta, on the left, had this really great scarf with bangles that I liked to wear over my head. It was really a look out here in central Minnesota.

Roberta and Alison lived in St Paul and I lived out here. We met at church camp and did a lot of things together. My parents had an amazing tolerance for this relationship now that I think about it. Their long distance bill was high and their car disappeared every other weekend once I learned to drive.

We never got into any real trouble, but we always came up with interesting things to do. One time -- back in the day when you could wander around -- we went to the airport and waved enthusiastically at people getting off the plane. We also pretended we'd lost grandma and some other equally sill but harmless things. We often laughed until our cheeks hurt and we were crying.

Each one of us has been through some pretty dramatic life seasons that changed our perspective, but as we sat around my kitchen table today, we remarked that at the core we are the same three girls we were 25 years ago. And we can still make each other laugh -- even if age and medication prevents us from getting to that cheek hurting/crying part. We came close, though, I tell you. Very close.

It is a beautiful and precious thing to laugh that hard. Life can get so serious.