Settling into the middle seat on the plane for the flight to Florida, my window seat mate asked if I was traveling for business or pleasure. “Oh, for FUN!” I answered. “I’m going on a girl’s trip with my friends-since-5th-grade posse”. He looked stunned, then admitted that he didn’t have ANY friends from that long ago, much less a posse. Really? How sad that sounds. There’s no friend like an old friend and I’ve got a habit of hanging onto people. It’s a special comfort that comes along with friends that shared your childhood, remember your family (especially the ones that you’re missing), played in your backyard and can nod along with all of your stories. Getting together is our fountain of youth. When we gather it’s non stop talking, laughing, and joy. We’ll be ‘girls’ to each other forever, even if the lovely server that took this photo in the restaurant called us ‘ladies’.