“Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver and the other gold.”
When the beloved mother of one of my dear college girlfriends passed away recently, it allowed the opportunity for us to reunite in our old stomping grounds of Madison, Wisconsin, to honor her beautiful memory. This incredible collection of lady Badgers quickly became a tight-knit crew that did everything together- we studied, slept, laughed, cried, played, and partied together every week of our four (or four and a half for me) years in college. We each have a nickname that is only relevant within this group and hold scores of inside jokes and sayings between us that still make you wet your pants with laughter decades later.
We have been friends for 31 years and have seen an awful lot in that period. Our careers span the globe in industries as varied as international public relations, the wine industry, biotech, social work, and real estate. There’s also a headhunter and a Broadway producer among us. We have collectively experienced triumph, heartache, love, and loss. A brain tumor, a husband’s death, marriage, divorce, and the adoption of a beautiful daughter. We’ve stayed in touch through thick and thin, been there to congratulate and console, always ready to laugh, Zoom, and plan another meet-up. These ladies are constant, steadfast, intelligent, and determined. Incredibly successful in business, life, family, and faith- do I dare say we make quite the Alpha pack?
All of the women in these photos are pure golden girls. Each one of them. Shiny, bright, beyond 24 karat. They exude gilded goodness, kindness, and generosity of spirit, for which I feel profoundly grateful to have. This reunion came at precisely the right time- a pandemic “break” that allowed for a celebration of life, which in turn, allowed us to celebrate our decades of friendship and sisterhood.
L&L,
klm
