A Book, A School and A Friendship

I spent the evening with my book club.  

A group of twelve women who have known one another for many years. 

But, more than just knowing one another 

- we all used to work together 

- all at the same elementary school  

- seven classroom teachers, a librarian, a PE teacher, a library associate, a Gifted and Talented teacher and a Title I Reading teacher.

This book club began almost 10 years ago - when all of us worked at that elementary school.

Today one of those classroom teachers and the library associate are the only ones still working at that school.  The rest of us have retired or moved on to other jobs  - some in the same district and some in other places.  

But, when we sit around a table with a meal in front of us and a shared book beside us -  it's like we are back in that school together.  We pick up where we left off and go from there.  Our conversations tonight ranged from politics to our families to our jobs to the book that most of us didn't read this time and then back to our children and the students we used to teach.  

And along with all of our conversation was the laughter 

- deep and often 

and I will just say it - LOUD!  

We worked side by side through some really tough times - cancer, scandals, principal changes and divorce.  We worked together through the wonderful times too - marriages, births, graduations and dream jobs.  

We are more than just colleagues - we are friends.

When I think about relationships - this is the group that I think about.  

We came together because of proximity and it all grew from there.

This is what relationships are all about 

- connections that run deep 

-connections that profoundly change us

I feel very fortunate to have worked with these women, 

to have learned from these women, 

to laugh with these women,

to call them my friends.