Kendall Boggs Fine Arts and Crafts: 20 Years of Friendship....

WARNING!!!! LONG BLOG AND PICTURE OVERLOAD!!!

When I went back to Nashville on Sunday it was just like every trip back. I love getting to see all my bestest buds.

We had a beautiful party for Brooke.

but.

When I was driving back home a rush of emotions came over me.

And I started thinking about the last 20 years of my life.

I met Connie about 20 years ago. I was just 35 (wow, that's hard to believe)! Connie and I hit it off immediately.

My family had just moved to Nashville and I knew no one.

However, I joined a tennis team and developed friendships right off the bat with those girls.

Most of those girls are still my best friends 20 years later.

So, as I was driving the 4 hour drive back to Atlanta, I thought and thought about all the fun times we've had together.

One thing I thought about literally brought me to tears.

Even though a few of us have had health scares, we are all alive and pretty darn healthy! Out of 7 women, that's amazing.

What brought me to tears was the fact that I don't know what my life would be like with out them.

Each and every one of these 6 friends would be there for me at any given moment. And I know that. All I would have to do is pick up the phone.

And I would do the same for them.

It is so rare that one finds this, and I feel so incredibly blessed.

so, I compiled a list of a few things. These have mostly hidden meanings so those of you reading most likely will not understand.

1) Susie wore a really short tennis skirt one match....no one had the nerve to tell her it was WAY to short. (and if you know Suz, that's really not her to wear a too short skirt) So for her birthday, I made her a "skirt extension"

2) I wrote a book. I literally told everyone in the car the story on the SEVEN hour trip home from the beach. Everyone could not wait to get out of the car. Susie was in the back seat with a pillow over her head.

3) We used to name our opponents. Some that come to mind are....peg leg, fashion disaster (needing to pull out my fashion citation pad), purple skirt, mean girl, oh, and then there was that girl we played at Sectionals who had really long (I mean to her waist) red frizzy hair that she never pulled back. She literally had to stop playing every now and then because it kept getting stuck under her armpits....ewe. just ewe.

4) The many fights we had and then made up

5) "I feel like I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama"

6) That turkey place that I swore was the best restaurant EVER. NOT.

7) Susie ordering for us at Nationals in Tuscon. We were starving. Susie ordered like tapas food. Maybe enough for 3 people. There were 10 of us. She is never, ever allowed to order for us again. ever.

8) Karen falling down the steps in Topsl and breaking her foot....she said she didn't have on her glasses.....there was usually a little wine involved on our trips.

9) Hawaii...really? how DID we let them win? We are all still pissed at that one.

10) me stuffing an entire block of cheese up my tennis shirt (those big ole round ones) at Nationals

11) Gayle and Karen and I think Susie running through the airport to make a flight. Gayle had on 5" heels.

12) "Gayle, I have never seen your hair look so bad" said by me after playing in horrible humidity...

I said it, everyone else was thinking it.

13) I usually woke up with all kinds of things written all over me with a black sharpie since I usually couldn't stay up past 9 p.m.

14) our notorious matching tennis outfits......um, one year they were pink leopard.

15) A hurricane was heading towards Destin. Did we leave? Nope, we made a party out of it! Had an entire restaurant doing the locomotion. Like a chain through the kitchen.

16) Susie always attracted every man in the place. I'm serious y'all. We were at the Red Bar in Grayton Beach one time. We were waiting for our table on the couches there. This man who was oh, maybe 80 wearing these Carl Lagerfield looking, black rimmed glasses fell sound asleep on her shoulder. I have never in my life laughed so hard. We named him "Susie's dead boyfriend".

17) We played truth or dare on one trip. Beth lost. She had to go out on the clay court neked and make a "butt" angel. The next morning the other players were like "what the what" is that in the clay?

18) Speaking of attracting guys, Connie always had em hittin on her. I can't remember this one guy but I think she had to chew him off her arm.

19) I am the worst charades player EVER. We always play when we get together. I was a disaster. I think it was Rosemary's baby. We had a tennis friend who was having triplets and I was swinging the tennis racquet and you know, I don't even know what I was doing...Again, alcohol was involved. I will never, ever live that down.

20) and finally guys....where is that white elephant Christmas pillow? I know someone has it, and it WILL show up again.....

We have been there for one another through thick and thin, weddings, babies, disappointments.

No divorces! (can you believe that?)

I love these girls!!!

Now for a little photo album (thank you Barb for providing these pics!)