then and now

There are friends who will casually walk into your life at a time when you need someone who knows what you are going through and then disappear almost as quickly as that life-altering dilemma arrived. Some friends you'll meet for a school or work project with whom you will share little other than the reliability to get the work done and have some delirious overworked and caffeine filled conversations with during the day.
And then there are the friends who walk alongside you from the time you meet them until the time that you or they pass away. I was fortunate enough to go spend a long weekend with two of these lifelong  friends in Chicago last week. 
Ann (on the left) was my 4th college roommate my freshman year. yes. 4th. My first was a tennis player. very butch. and we seriously had nothing.nothing. in common. 
The second was a nymphomaniac. not fun in a dorm room.
The third was a delight but went home with medical issues. pregnant? was she pregnant?
And then Ann was there with an empty bed. not to be confused with first roommate. but a room that was filled with wit, humor, and tell it like it is street smarts. Plus, this girl could rock any room into a party. 
Sharon, on the right, was my sorority sister and I just happened to introduce her to her husband of thirty years. Amazing, eh? If you ever needed someone in your corner I would choose Sharon. She would always be by your side through good and bad. She is an Eeyore at times but it only makes her more endearing when things turn out well.
This picture was taken on our way to see Sharon's husband play at a summer festival and it was like we were 19 again. and that's the way true friends make you feel. happy. alive. and forever young.