Breaking Up Is Hard To Do ...

It's really pretty astonishing, when you think about it, that our 'playgroup' (I'll call us the DG 20), has been in tact for 9+ years.  According to the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 times in their lifetime.  But, more to this point, 1 in 6 Americans relocates each year.  So how is it that our DG 20 has bucked the odds for so long?  Until now ...

Today we gathered to wish Kevin, Megan, Kate and Liam Barker a fond farewell as they are relocating to Wisconsin.  (I still can't believe they want to be Cheese-Heads ...)  What a great time it was this afternoon: tasty BBQ, scrumptious cake, cold beverages, a fun 'Barker Trivia' game, and an absolutely amazing 'tug on your heart strings' multimedia presentation that Tina put together ... featuring hundreds of pictures from the past nine years - all set to music with a 'friend' theme.  Wow.

Our party this afternoon/evening was a great celebration - not only to honor the Barkers - but to reaffirm for all of us how powerful friendship can become.  It's really quite remarkable, when you think about it, that five families ... pulled together essentially through a pediatricians office ... could become so close and so unbelievably connected.

For the past nine years, more Friday afternoons than not have included some combination of 'DG 20 Playgroup' friends coming together.  Pizza parties.  Park swings.  Pick-up games.  A trip to the mall.  A birthday party. Pine Lake.  Just about any place worked.  The common denominator in all our 'meetings' has been that parents could talk openly to other parents ... and our children had a consistent and foundational group of good friends.

It verges on sounding cliche, but this is true: in good times and in bad times (sometimes ... really bad times) we have pulled together and 'been there' for one another.  That, in my opinion, is an immeasurable blessing, and one I do not take for granted.

We will miss you Barkers!  The good news for the 'DG 20' is that you're not going to be that far away ... and we all plan to invade your new space soon.  Watch out!