The Lake City Nine

Today I am grateful for safe travels to and from Lake City, MN for nine of us who had a girls' weekend this weekend. I am grateful for old friends, shared history, and fresh memories to add to that history.

The picture below captures us at a local establishment on Saturday evening. It also captures a lot of smiles. That fit our time together this weekend. A lot of smiles. A lot of fun. A lot of laughter. A lot of food. A lot of beverage. A lot of talking. A lot of gratitude for the opportunity to get together and a great rental home to share for the weekend.

We are Rita, Beth, Sheila, Brenda, Tracy, Faith, Melissa, me, and Lori. We are classmates, some since kindergarten, all since our freshman year of high school. We are now nearing the milestone of 50 years on the planet. (Which reminds me, today is my sister Ruth's 50th birthday. Happy Birthday!) This was our second annual gathering. Last year it was "March Madison." This year we were the "Wild Women of Wabasha."  We spent most of our time in Lake City, just up the road. But we were wild in Wabasha as we competed in a scavenger hunt. More on that in an upcoming post.

 

When I left for home Sunday morning, just a couple miles down the road I saw a large billboard that said "In all things, give thanks." It is a bible verse from I Thessalonians. How very appropriate for the weekend we had, and for every day. I am grateful for each and every one of my eight friends I got to spend time with this weekend. We even did our own A-Z gratitude list. It will stay between us because you had to be there to fully appreciate it (or understand it for that matter). But I can tell you that my A-Z list ranges from accepting each other just as we are to more than one zany conversation that transpired.

 

Thank you Beth, Brenda, Faith, Lori, Melissa, Rita, Sheila, and Tracy. Thanks for everything!