So Long For Now!

Today was the last day for our Starkville Girls Weekend at Pam's. Madeline was driving back to Starkville where she lives and Carol was driving back to Ft. Worth (yes, Texas) where she lives, so they were going to have to leave early - which ended up being just before noon. Elizabeth had an early afternoon flight to Indianapolis, and Laura and I had late afternoon flights to Johnson City and Nashville. But before Madeline and Carol pulled out, we had enough time to get a group photo:

That's Eek Eek on the bottom (dolphins are quite strong, you know), and left to right - Madeline, Carol, Elizabeth, Laura, Pam, and me. What this photo doesn't show is the effort it took to pull it out - and interminable time working with a selfie stick until we discovered that Madeline's phone had a timer on it. So we planted the self stick in the sand, put on the timer (once we figured out how to work the timer), and viola - this stellar photo!!  Of course, you will have to imagine the effort and sweat that it took these six menopausal to achieve this feat ...

Anyhow, we got our group shot and said a bittersweet farewell to Madeline and Carol. After they pulled out, Laura, Pam, and I headed to Pam's pool again for a cooling-off. Elizabeth still had some packing to do, and joined us once that was done. We all had some great pool time before returning to Pam's. Pam and Elizabeth left for the airport and Laura and I got out all the leftovers for some lunch.

Shortly after, Gregg (Pam's hubs) came home. He had been sent to his parents for the weekend (wasn't that nice of him?). He's also from Starkville and an old friend, so Laura and I had fun catching up with him (and tried to convince him that Pam needs a swinging bed on their screen porch). A little while later, Pam returned from the airport and we got a text from Elizabeth saying her flight had been delayed.

Soon it was time for Laura and I to make it to the airport, so we all said our final farewells. We made it to the airport without a problem, returned the rental car, and found out our flights had been delayed as well. Apparently Elizabeth was still there and was boarding her plane as we were walking through the terminal.

Eventually our planes took off, and we arrived home. Well, I did. Laura had to connect in Atlanta, and apparently Delta was having problems, so she got a night at a hotel before eventually getting home the next morning.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend. One truly blessed by God, who blessed us all with our friendships nearly 59 years ago. In many ways, we all had changed. And in many ways, we were still the same. But we left knowing each other a little bit better, and being thankful for all the years we shared, and all that is yet to be.

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Thankful today for: safe travel for friends returning home; safe, smooth flight home for me; Molly picking me up at the airport; relaxing in Pam's community pool; group photo fun