...and then, after that...

Today, one of these ladies is getting married. And, another will marry her true love about four weeks from today. One of us will be accompanied by a thirteen-year-old son; one will hustle her children into fancy dress then hustle them into the car for the long drive to be here today.

In 1991, we got ourselves up in outfits that looked like our moms let us pick our clothes the first time, sheared our hair, dyed what was left, thought we were awfully clever sprawled across the hood of some local redneck's green sports car parked outside the country-western bar.

In 2004, we gathered for brunch at Easy and lined up while Ryan took our photo for posterity--Vanessa then blonde, me engaged to marry my girlfriend just as soon as it became legal, Siobhan about to dive into an anthropology MA, Amber having just introduced us all to the man she's marrying later today, Lilynn in town for the weekend from either British Columbia or Nova Scotia...I've forgotten how long since she moved from place to place.

It's a couple years off being a perfect ten-year/ ten-year/ ten-year count, but tonight, we will line up to have our picture taken again, and in a few more years, no doubt we'll assemble for photo #4, and see where we stand.