Old Friends

I got back a little while ago from a baby shower for my friend Natalie here in the Bay Area.  I've known Natalie since I was six years old.  Her parents and my parents met back then and became best friends and for years and years our families did everything together.  Trips, holidays, and regular hanging out.  Some of my best memories from age six on are from occasions our families spent together.  Every winter we would go to Lake Tahoe for a week and rent a house or a cabin with both families together.  We would ski, hang out, and generally have a good time.  Passovers, Hanukahs...so many traditions and memories formed in those years!

Natalie and I in 1987

Since I have been working on my dad's 70th birthday video, I have been looking through a lot of pictures and videos, and there are many of Natalie and her family throughout the years, which maybe made me a bit nostalgic for the good old days.

When I think back about my friendship with Natalie, we spent a lot of time together early on, and then in our teens it seemed to wane a bit.  We weren't really close friends, but we were old friends who had known each other forever...almost more like family than friends.  Over the years we haven't really kept in touch except for the occasional holiday where we would see each other.  I didn't make it to her wedding last year (we were on the East Coast), which was a bummer.  She came to my bridal shower up here in July, and she came down to San Diego for the wedding as well.  It was really great to have her there!

Being at her baby shower today was kind of a fluke.  Donovan and I were coming up here for my dad's big video unveiling (happening tonight!) and my mom was invited to the baby shower, so I tagged along.  I'm so glad that I got to be there!  It was great to get to talk to Natalie about her pregnancy and what's going on with her life (it's funny...I don't know why we don't keep in touch more.  We have such a long history together, and we clearly enjoy each other's company...).  I got to sit next to Natalie throughout most of the baby shower, including when all of our moms' friends were sharing their stories and advice, which was hilarious!  It was just really nice to sit next to my old friend and share that experience with her.  She's one of the people I've known longest in my life, and it's nice to know that whether we talk once a year or once a month, Natalie and I will always be in each other's lives.