Even though I'm inching closer and closer to the big 3-0 (yes, I have a couple of years to go, but it's still closer than I've yet to come to terms with), I'm still fortunate enough to remain very close with some of my best girl* friends from high school. Approximately 15 years after we met, these are still the ladies I count among my nearest and dearest, and who know me inside and out.
And, in those 15 years, I'm quite proud to say our maturity levels haven't changed much either. We still take long car rides together to catch up on our gossip, we still have ice cream dates at Friendly's, and yes, we even still have sleepovers, except now those sleepovers involve a lot more booze. Oh, and Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Seriously. We do that. Don't judge.
About 5 years ago or so, when the first wave of engagements gradually started rolling in from our separate groups of college friends, we collectively took stock of our own relationships. Whether we were dating casually, in a committed relationship, or just enjoying any cute guys that passed through our line of sight, we all concluded that none of us were remotely close to settling down. One of my girlfriends made the astute (and only half-joking) observation that we were more likely to collect our Social Security checks before any of us took the plunge. And honestly, we were OK with that. No need to rush our lives away - we'd get there when we got there.
As I shared a few months ago, late this summer my fiancé proposed, and I became the first lady in our group to join the "I'm Getting Hitched" club. I never, everrrrr would've bet that I'd be the first, but lo and behold, that's how it went down.
Then, roughly two months later, while on a vacation with her boyfriend, my friend D called me: "Hey...are you sitting down?" And with that, Bride-to-Be #2 joined the ranks.
A week after that, I got a text from my best friend L while at work, asking me to call her ASAP: Our friend J's boyfriend was secretly planning a proposal, and needed help putting together a celebration to surprise J with once he popped the question. He asked, she said yes (well, technically she said "OK!," which is both adorable and quite funny), and a third fiancée was born!
In less than 3 months, we collectively celebrated 3 engagements before any of us needed a Jazzy Scooter to get around...and none of us saw it coming.
I'm pretty happy the engagements came along this quickly after each other. It's really fun to know that, just like with enrolling in college and making moves in our individual careers, I'll have these girls to share things with in our typically honest (and somewhat unpolished) fashion. It still feels so weird to know that (at least) 3 of us will become wives (!!!) within the next year or so, but at least we'll be there for each other to share the collective disbelief!
Anybody else out there ever experience a slew of surprise engagements within your group of close friends?
*Yes, I'm still close with quite a few of my best guy friends from high school as well. Heck, one of them is my future brother-in-law! But this post was about the hometown ladies, so the menfolk can just take a backseat.
