Once upon a time, there was Boy 1 and Girl 1. They were high school sweethearts, and they both went to Big Midwestern U (BMU). (Boy 1 went first)  By the time Girl 1 got to BMU, Boy 1 had already been there for a couple of years and lived in Fancy Dorm. In Fancy Dorm, there were all kinds of upperclassmen who endlessly fascinated Girl 1. Specifically, Boy 2. Boy 2 and Boy 1 met – they had a lot in common, since they had the same major, played guitar, and Boy 1 was in a band with Boy 3.

Girl 1 loved this whole scenario endlessly, particularly Boy 2. Girl 1 was a total music fan, and just loved hanging out with bands, and sometimes even singing a bit. She was quite over Boy 1. Well, things didn’t work out with Boy 2, but they all stayed friends. Boy 2 met Girl 2, and they dated for quite awhile. Girl 2 was not Girl 1′s biggest fan. Girl 3 entered the picture later, and she and Boy 3 were a thing right away.

Soon, the time came for all of the group, one by one, to leave BMU for the Big World. Boy 2 was a real smarty pants and stayed on for more degrees, Boy 1 came back for another degree a bit later, and Girl 1, as the youngest, was the last to leave.

They were all very good friends, and all stayed in touch. Somewhere along the way, Boy 1 really hit it off with Girl 2, and since she was Boy 2′s ex, asked if it would be “OK” if they dated. Boy 2 was fine with it. He was dating someone else.

A little time passed, and Boy 2 broke up with Psycho Girl. Around this time, he and Girl 1 had been talking more regularly, and bonded over the fact that Girl 1 had also just broken up with Wrong Guy. There was a great show coming up in Big City (there goes that music thing again), and Girl 1 invited Boy 2 to come up for the weekend to go to it. Girl 2 and Boy 1 lived there, and they would be coming along as well.

Well, next thing you know, Girl 1 and Boy 2 are an item again. Girl 2 was not thrilled, but soon they all saw that the writing was on the wall, and Girl 1 and Girl 2 made amends. Girl 1 and Boy 2 got engaged, and Girl 2 and Boy 1 got engaged. Soon, there were weddings, and everyone was in everyone else’s wedding (two weeks apart) – including Boy 3. Not long after, Girl 3 and Boy 3 got married, too.

Always, always, there was the music. Boy 1, Boy 2, and Boy 3 in various incarnations of bands, sometimes butting heads on styles, but always enjoying playing. Girls 1, 2, and 3 were quite used to this, and in the case of Girl 1, oftentimes she’d have just as much fun hanging with the Boys as with the Girls.  Time passed, the new little families spread out, but made it a goal to get the Big Family of Friends together regularly for fun, music, and generally pretending that they were all back at BMU.

And so, this weekend was one of those weekends. Friendships and bizarre history that extends over a decade at this point (almost two, for Girl 1 and Boy 1!). It’s amazing how certain people can enter your life as friends, and no matter the time or distance that separates you, when you get the crew back together, it’s like you never left. In my eyes, the six of us are so much more than friends – really, we’re Family. And the time we spend and these relationships are among my most cherished things. There are the trappings of being grown ups – good jobs, nice houses, a baby, some dogs…better beer and food (most of us slightly rounder as a result), better guitars, a recording studio in someone’s basement…but in there, in this time we spend, we’re still Girls 1, 2, and 3 and Boys 1, 2, and 3 jamming and hanging out at BMU.

I am blessed to have these people in my life.