Our friendship began in the summer of 1969. Full disclosure, neither of us were born yet. But it was in the summer of 1969 that the wheels were set in motion as our parents would first cross paths in a tiny Lutheran college in Nebraska. The rest, as they say, is history. From college room-mates, to teaching colleagues in San Diego and  Hong Kong our families friendship has spanned decades and continents.

As for Bethany and I, there is something unique about a friendship you have had since birth. We’ve gone from sharing milk to our first (illicit…shhhhh!) wine coolers to long hours talking over a bottle of Chianti, from mud-pies to ginger-bread houses gone awry to leisurely meals overlooking the California coastline, from coloring together on bedroom walls (and getting in trouble for it!) to a walking tour of art-history through Florence and Venice. Woven in between all of those experiences are all the joys and sorrows that life can bring your way through each phase in life. I know how lucky I am to have this kind of friendship. I hope my daughters are blessed to have the same. “I’m working on a best friend for you!” Bethany would say to Lilly as an infant. Her first daughter was born 8 months after Lilly.

This past weekend we got to spend two days with Bethany and her girls and see the beginnings of what we hope is a third generation of friendship. We’ve spent time together in the past with our little ones, but they are reaching an age where they remember each other and can get lost in playing together for hours. We enjoyed a “girls only” weekend as Andy has not yet arrived in California and David was sent packing (happily) to his brother’s for guy time and the World Cup. Here’s what the girls were up to while the boys were away:

A walk to the Farm at the Fairgrounds: Climbing “The Tunnel Tree”
Their first sleepover! No sleepover is complete without a cozy hideout, watching movies, and popcorn:Train ride!Goldfish today, Bruschetta or Cha Gio “tomorrow”?
Taking turns burying each other’s legs:Prowling the beach like Jaguars:And lots of love and giggles for the youngest among us:Whether their friendships span decades and continents remains to be seen. Who knows where life will take our families. We certainly hope we will see each other enough to see these young friendships flourish and if they do remain friends through the long haul in life we’ll be able to tell them how their friendship began, “You see, in the summer of ’69…”