The Way We Were

"Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time rewritten every line?"

I was on the phone with my mom the other day, and she told me how glad she is that I have made so many good girlfriends, that I always make an effort to meet people, and that I never put all of my eggs in one basket, so to speak.

This weekend I was reminded of one of my very best (and first!) girlfriends: my godmother.

My godmother, whom I call Aunt Lynnie, has been best friends with my dad since they were in their Bar Mitzvah years. They grew up together in Miami, and when my dad met my mom, she and AL became BFF in a heartbeat. She snuck into the hospital room when I was born and was the first one besides my parents to hold me. We've had a special bond ever since.

AL lives in Miami and since I moved away almost 11 years ago, I haven't gotten to see her nearly as often as I would like. Well, she was in town this weekend and we've had the chance to spend a lot of time together the past few days. It was wonderful to reconnect and to reminisce about my childhood; when we lived in a beautiful white house in Coral Gables and she was over at our house almost every night, lounging on our coach and making us laugh.

I know I've said this a hundred times before, but I really did have the most amazing and privileged childhood. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would leave Miami. Sometimes now, I find myself gazing up at the New York skyline while I'm walking somewhere and still think to myself, "Am I really here?" Things were simpler then, and perhaps time has rewritten a few lines, but I wouldn't trade this in for anything.

My mom is right. I am blessed to have such a wonderful circle of friends. Life is really wonderful and I would like to send kisses and thanks to all of the girlfriends that have really been there for me lately - to cry with me when I'm down and to celebrate all of the great things that have been happening to me as of late. You know who you are - and I don't know what I would do without you.