Dallas

It hardly needs to be said, but this weekend in Dallas was phenomenal and epic and necessary and wonderful. It was truly excessive in every way, except perhaps fun-- because there is never too much of that. I don't know when we're too old to sleep 6 to a room... but I kind of hope it never happens.
The wedding was so lovely, so nice, so them. The newly-married friends got together our junior year and have been engaged for 5 years, so to say there has been some, um, anticipation is something of an understatement. And it was well-deserved. The days leading up to the wedding were packed with fun and packed with friends, it was just completely... wonderful.
With a couple of exceptions of friends going through hard times, it's great to see people I love doing so well. To quote Erin, "risping." For the most part (and even the hard stuff not withstanding) friends are pursuing interesting careers and have found partners who make them happy. It's great to see. It's hard not to be nostalgic for an earlier time (say 2003-2005 or so) when most of us were closer together geographically (or, like 1999-2003 when we were in the same place.) But there was a lot more struggle, by and large, the struggle of the early and mid twenties trying to find our places. And we've come a long way toward those places. It's nice to see. And really something that these doctors and lawyers and scholars and grant-writers and editors and conservators and planning and policy wonks-in-training can still get together, laugh our heads off, drink like we got into someone's parents' liquor cabinet and stay up all night like we're still 18.


And also something to actually be close to 30 and need days to get sleep and stomach back in line with regular life. Still, so worth it.