Wine and Cheese

Last night was girls night!

Roger took the kids on a daddy date, leaving the house all to me... and my girlfriends.

On the agenda was list making; we were coming together to work on our lists of 30 things that we want to accomplish before we turn 30.

Over a month ago I began thinking of the 30 things that I wanted to accomplish before I turn 30.  My friend Summer gave me the idea.  After an afternoon of staring at an empty computer screen, with an annoying blinking line,  I  decided to enlisted the help of my friends.

Invitations for The Wine and Cheese Party went out.

You've got to have wine and cheese while working on a list, right?!?!  

At 5 pm we had a Dinner Party on the front porch.  Everyone brought  either a side dish, cheese, or wine.   Summer and I stuffed the peppers and fought the smoke detector.

At 7pm we headed in through the house, out to the back porch. That was where the list making was to begin.   "welcome to the Wine and Cheese Party!"

yes mom, I made those clip boards

Everyone grabbed a clip board, pen, piece of paper, and a conversation starter.  We spent the first hour asking and answering the conversation questions while sipping wine and reminiscing about the past.

As the sun was turning orange we plugged in the string of lights, lit the candles, and popped open another bottle of wine.  It was finally time to begin our lists!

Some of us put major things like "get a tattoo" or "own a jeep" while others put more simple, particle tasks, like, "go to the dentist."  We all seemed to agree that the majority of our "to do" items would be a lot more fun with a friend.   Things like "Girl's camping adventure" and "friend trip to Nashville" began appearing on our sheets of paper.

lauren took this lovely photo.  she's the photographer of the bunch!   

Before the night came to a close most of us had a good chunk of our lists complete, with side notes as to which friend would accompany us on which Grand Adventure.

"Mary going to a gun range?  I've GOT to see that.  I am totally going with her on THAT one."


Friendship is very important to me.  It is what holds me together.

Those dear friends are who hold me together.

Whether it be in the form of consolation, criticism, laughter, or companionship, life would be unbearable without good friends.

Relationships are tricky, you have to be very intentional when it comes to them.  Close friends don't magically appear, they are made through vulnerability.  When we open up not only our busy calendars, but also our true inner selves, then, and only then, can the soil of friendship begin to churn.  

Tending to friendships becomes harder and harder as we grow.  No longer do we have those endless summer days stretched out before us as we did in our elementary school years.  We have jobs, husbands. children, and a million other obligations and stresses that come with adulthood.  Often times it is easier not to fight the battle of keeping up friendships.  Escaping into ourselves, our own lives, becomes more appealing.

 But alas, the need for community draws us out.  Our need for friends that love us enough to point out when things don't seem right and are willing to take our hand to walk us through  the darkness, eats up our souls if it is not satisfied.  That's what draws us together.  The glue, if you will.  It's nearly impossible to grow on our own, to enjoy life on our own, to mourn on our own.

In Sunday school this morning we talked about the need for community.  Summer, the friend who helped me stuff the peppers, who also happens to be my Sunday School teacher,  pointed out Hebrews 10:24-25 to us.  "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." 

let them eat cake... and have a glass of wine