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Washing-away Wedding Showers

This weekend, I experienced a time warp. Both my husband and I attended functions with our high school friends, friends we have known for decades.

On Saturday, we joined Andrea and Sarat in Philadelphia's Magic Gardens for a beautiful and unique nondenominational ceremony focused on love. The groom himself wore a traditional Indian shalwar suit, while the bride wore a white dress. Like the couple, the attendees wore whatever made then comfortable and happy. They have been together for a decade, since college, through multiple relocations and careers. I'm inspired by their tenacity and endurance to stay together, to continue to love each other without a sense of obligation, pretense. I've included a picture of the gorgeous couple and unique venue below.

On Sunday, I went to Moumita's bridal shower near Long Island, New York. We have known each other since Stuyvesant High School. We shared stories of our youth, of our innocence and stupidity, and celebrated our so called evolution into this next chapter of our lives. We shared our favorite memories of Moumita; the shows and concerts that we attended together; the books we loved; the movies we had watched. We devoured the Buttercookie cake below. Mostly, we focused on the distant past.

In all the decades since these friendships began, we have changed and grown closer and apart. We have maintained the links but the relationships have changed, as we have changed. We have changed homes, but the essential pieces of furniture we have taken with us to the new place. The photo frames we have kept but maybe we've changed the photos? Maybe we have been selling the furniture, upgrading for a long time. We have held onto the memories that we can still remember but we are rewriting those memories with every retelling.

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