College mini-reunion!!!

I spent this weekend with my college friends Kristen, Francesca, and Tracy--aren't they gorgeous? We hadn't been all together in the same place since graduation, so we had just a bit of catching up to do.

If you've read He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, THESE are the girls who introduced me to the technicolor holiday light show that is La Sallette. And now that you have this picture, you can envision Tracy, Fresca and me sitting outside Kristen's dorm room, cutting pictures out of the J. Crew catalogue to cheer her up after some idiot broke her heart. We'd do the same for her today :)

Fresca & Tracy brought some serious paraphernalia to the party: the pile of CDs included everything from The Escape Club to Yaz, and the pictures in Fresca's giant plastic storage bin may be the funniest thing any of us have seen in the past decade. There was even a quote book, revealing deep thoughts that could be bound and sold in the self-help aisle in any bookstore today. Fortunately, we'd each had one of Tracy's stellar mojitos to ease the embarrassment of this trip down memory lane...let's just say that the 90s are not a decade that should be repeated, in terms of fashion, music, or anything else.

First of all, OH MY GOSH...the hair was simply breathtaking.
Fresca came to college sporting a mullet.
Tracy had hippie hair, long and flowing, like the breeze.
Kristen rocked a Hillary Clinton-esque bob w/bangs (from the stand by your man years).
And I had a hunk of bangs bursting forth from my forehead the size of a slice of pizza. (It was permed, teased, and sprayed to ensure architectural soundness; seriously, I should have had a building permit).

And OUR CLOTHES!
If the 90s had a signature shape, clearly it was the triangle. Three-point, asymmetrical hair styles, gigantic shoulder pads tapered down to pegged jeans (which were high-waisted, to draw maximum attention to the differential between one's waist and butt), t-shirts tucked into our pants and billowed out, giving us the shape of a Christmas tree...where were we getting these ideas? Where were Stacy & Clinton when we needed them?

And yet, if I was going to face such clear evidence of my fashion mis-steps, there's no one else I'd rather be with. It was amazing reconnecting with these friends, all together--it reminded me that a chapter of my life I'd sort of brushed off as "way back then," was actually a pretty important time for each of us, and totally worth remembering. I'd forgotten how good it feels to hang out with people who share your memories, who add bits you'd forgotten or never even known about, filling out the pictures.

And it also made me realize why we can't see the future. Because while each of the four of us are in pretty good places in our lives now, we've all been through some major $%#@ along the way that, had we seen it coming, would have made us utterly panic.

I had to leave our reunion early Sunday morning to get back to Cambridge to give a talk at church on how God guides us. I left Kristen's house at 5am, driving along thinking happy thoughts of awe and nostalgia, only to run into seventeen Massachusetts State Troopers when I crossed the border. Honestly, I thought, how much can be going down at dawn on a Sunday morning??? I was a little peevy about it, complaining to God that it would be REALLY uncool if I got a ticket on the way to speak at church... His response? Well, you could slow down...

As usual, he had a point.

Here's the link to the talk if you want to check it out.

And Kristen, Fresca, and Tracy, if you're reading this: I'm glad you guys have the other pieces of my college memories :)