A Charaders Reunion

Almost fifteen years ago - I met up with a group of women who would become some of my very best friends. We all came together through a mutual friend and - despite life and career changes, growing older, moving away and the plain old passage of time - we are still very much connected a decade and a half later. We started our friendship in Philadelphia, but we now represent several different regions of the country. Regardless of distance, though, these women are - and will always be - close to my heart.



It had been almost four years since we had all been together as a group. And, since some of us are about to start new careers, move cross country or just jump back into a new season and a new routine - we decided that the time was right for a long-overdue get-together. Lucky for me, they agreed to our house as the meeting place.



We call ourselves "The Charaders" because - well, we like to play Charades. I'm not sure who first suggested this tried and true game of pantomime - but, we started playing it back then and we're happily (and hysterically) still playing it today. So much so, in fact, that we jokingly took it on as a group name back in the 1990s.



Both kids LOVED having everyone here. Luca had never had that many doting adult play mates at his disposal. He couldn't believe his luck.



Matteo had a lot of fun, too.



Our time together was spent playing,


































making music,







sharing meals,






and simply hanging around.








It was such a good feeling to be together again after so much time. And, although I don't know the next time we'll be able to come together again - I do know that I want to be playing charades with these women well into the far off future.