Girls of Summer

(Warning: I haven't had a sentimental post in a while so excuse this)

For everyone, transition is a slow and gradual process that seeps into the seams and nooks and corners to change what is normal now to a new normal for the future. It works in wonderful ways, often carrying us from our comfort zone to a new sort of comfortable and acts as a baby step for changes that are often all-consuming without transition. As new grads standing on the cusp of quite possibly the largest transition we'll ever embark on, we were forced to wonder "How are we going to get to point A to new point B?" How will we ever live without our ten closest friends? How will we ever prioritize work over celebration or being sensible over living with abandon? How are we to make our daydreams reality?  And how did we handle the situation at hand when these questions got a bit too overwhelming?
We brainstormed ways to reach a methodical and sensible answer and solution to these issues, that's how.

Not.

Instead, we moved to paradise.

We packed our bags, consolidated our wardrobe, and moved into a beach bungalow. We got jobs we loved with people we loved and jumped into a new routine. Then summer began, and along the way were were witness to life unfolding in new and exciting ways.

We celebrated the last days of single life for our dear sweet Masey before matrimonial bliss,

then did the same for lovie Rachel as she prepared for wedding bells. 

We watched as one of our own went from Mrs to Miss with tears in our eyes and chill bumps on our skin.

We celebrated this nation with flags in our hands to the beat of the band in the hot summer heat, fireworks over head.

We made new friends and shook hands and gave hugs and surrounded ourselves with interesting people and interesting stories.

(And hung out with the Manning brothers and Shawn Peyton, head coach of the Saints, along the way. Yes that's some of them below.)

We laughed and danced and took pictures and sipped cocktails. We became regulars at our favorite places and slipped easily into the slow rhythm of beach living. 

But most importantly, we continued to love each other and watched as new friendships grew into deeper ones, as we continued to live and laugh without ceasing, as we continued to dream and talk about the future, as we continued to stay up too late and have to wake up too early. We continued with our ideas, with talking too fast or too much, with enjoying the sun and the water. 

We navigated the limbo we were in between undergrad hopefuls to graduates who are attempting to grab life by the horns. And we did it all over a cup of coffee before work, a stroll on the beach at sunset, six girls in a bungalow taking a quick break before real life calls "action". And now life calls and says its time to come home, its time to begin, dreams must become reality and aren't we excited?

But these girls of summer did a pretty good job during limbo.