Pool Party Tuesday's

Edit: The post about Pool Party Tuesday's was one of the first blogs I wrote ahead of time for the A-Z challenge. Long before the bombing in Boston and the explosion in Texas. Since then our country has endured scary, fearful tragedies and I would just like to make mention that we must stand united through these. My heart is with Texas today as they mourn the losses due to the explosion, and that the injured seek healing. Praying for the medical professionals who will be working hard. And, due to my line of work, I am holding those that were in the collapsed nursing home very very dear to my heart. May God bring peace to all of those affected, and may hearts heal. And may the rest of us step up and do something to help.

And now, for my "p" post.

The summer after my senior year was pretty jam packed. I had graduation parties, softball games, goodbye parties, and, of course, Pool Party Tuesday's.

Pretty self explanatory- every so often, on a Tuesday, we had a pool party at my friend Becky's house.   She was a year younger than I was...and to be honest, at that point, most of my friends were a year younger. I just seemed to fit better with them. I grew apart from a lot of my friends in my class. I still loved them, but it just wasn't the same. Plus, my best friend Alex is a year younger than me and he was pretty close to this group.

Anyways- about one or two Tuesday's a month, we'd haul over to Becky's house. Alex and I almost always drove together- we had our best conversations in those car rides. We'd arrive, hug our friends, change into bathing suits and hop in the pool. there was always a lot of food. People would bring snacks and pop and there would be pizza or sometimes Becky's parents cooked for us. We had the best times at those parties. There was always a little bit of drama, but it wouldn't be a high school party without some drama! Right?

As the nights at Becky's house winded down we'd all change back into real clothes, plop on some couches and chat. They were some of the most comfortable times I've ever had, just being around my friends.They were- and still are- genuinely good people. None of us even thought about drinking or smoking.We were perfectly content just being around each other.

Alex and I would drive home and talk about the night, breaking down the drama and the heartbreak and talking about who we spent time with. Thinking about it now, I hope I realized then how lucky I was to have such good friends and to have a friend like Alex. I wore a smile most of that summer, unless I was crying as I said goodbye to someone.

It was really special for me to be able to spend time with my friends before I left for college. The moments with Alex were especially close to my heart. He was my saving grace in high school, and I was terrified to leave him. So I treasured all of our car rides and adventures that summer. And we had many, many adventures.

The next summer, PPT's continued. I didn't go all the time, but I made an appearance now and again. I was now a college student, and loved seeing my friends that were still in high school. I'd give them advice and they'd listen to my college stories. Every time I left for the night I got a little sad knowing that this wouldn't last forever.

And it didn't. I haven't pulled into Becky's long driveway and ran out of my car to hug my friends in over five years. But I'll never forget those nights, or those people.