Busy Bees

When you are 31 years old it's not many friendships that you can say have spanned over 20 years, but I am lucky enough to have FOUR. I think Elli and Sherry were in my kindergarten class. I met Kathleen in grade 2 and Carolyn in grade 6. We all grew up within a ten minute walk of each other. Four of us attended the same elementary school, we all went to the same middle and high schools, and four of us also attended the same university. Our lives' paths sometimes cross and other times drift a bit (like all the way to New Zealand, right Carolyn?) but it never changes that these are the people who know me best. I never have to explain myself to them and all the inside jokes I have with myself, they understand them. They have rallied around me in hard times and were the first to be happy for me when I had something to celebrate. Each one of them has taught me something in my life.

We affectionately call ourselves the Yaya's, from the novel, The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. Several years ago now, we agreed to try to spend one weekend together every year. This summer didn't work out for our regular gig, but we are having YaYa festivities today and tomorrow, which began this morning with a gathering of all the YaYa's and their respective hubbies, boyfriends, children etc.

We've shared alot of heartbreak, laughter and some pretty crazy fads... here are some of the worst storms we've weathered:

NKOTB (that's New Kids on the Block for those in the know)
Perms and teased bangs
Days of Dreams High School Musical (singing singing and more singing)
Early morning band practice carpool
Early morning band practice ritual of flubbing half the notes
Addiction to soap operas
Addiction to using soap acronyms GH, Y&R, B&B etc.
Obsessions with 80's teen idols like Kirk Cameron, Johnny Depp...
Obsessions with big hair 80's rock bands like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith...
Obsessions with the tear-out posters of teen idols and big hair rock bands from teen magazines like BOP!
Electric Youth perfume by Debbie Gibson that left splotches on your neck

Ah, good times, good times... Well here are some pics of us today, happy thirty-somethings... Here's a little teaser - one of the women in this photograph is pregnant - can you guess which one?

From left to right that's Carolyn, Elli, Kathleen, me and Sherry.



Here's a picture of Hafsa bonding with Sherry's daughter Leela. They were born only 4 days apart!





We've spent much of the first week of our trip socializing and catching up with everyone and I think now the lounging & relaxation portion of our holiday should begin!! Maymuna is looking forward to getting outside a little more now that the snow has finally arrived here in Ottawa. Here she is in her snow pants this afternoon before she went out to the park with my parents.



A bientot!