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Saturday, August 8, 2015

College Roommates

     Besides falling in love with my adorable and amazing husband, one of the best things that came out of my four years at Boston College was meeting eight incredible women. All of these years later (many more than I care to admit), we remain ever present in each other's lives. Oddly, we regularly refer to ourselves as the "roomies". The term works itself into all of our conversations. Ironically, we never all lived together in one location during those college days. Different variations of the eight of us have shared dorm rooms and apartments, yet we consider ourselves "roomies" for life.
     We have been through the many ups and downs of life together. And by together, I don't necessarily mean "physically" since we are scattered across six different states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia) making true reunions difficult to plan and generally limited to once a year, sometimes once every few years. 
     Still, these women are as much a part of my life as those I see on a daily basis. It is nearly impossible to describe the level of communication that transpires between all of us via text and email. Rarely does an entire week go by without some form of communication from one of the roomies, updating the rest of us on a random facet of her life. Sometimes, when life is at its busiest, a few respond while the others attempt to catch up at a later date. In those moments, we quickly check in and then move on, caught in the tide, the ebb and flow of our individual lives. More often, one text sets off a chain of texts, each of us contributing randomly to the conversation which has literally gone on for hours, days, sometimes weeks. 
     For those late to the text string, it is often overwhelming to catch up on the news, particularly since the topics change as quickly as the thought has entered one of our minds. Adding to the confusion is the fact that we never edit the "re" line so you begin reading about the topic referenced and slowly find yourself exposed to a wide variety of comments that have absolutely no connection to the original topic. In an effort to make the process easier for those who have missed the original text string, one of the roomies has recently resorted to sending a summary email, highlighting the important points in the original text. This was a brilliant update to the system!
     This method of communication has worked for us for so many years, it's become an integral part of our relationships with each other. Those emails and texts have provided me with many moments of comfort and peace during times of crisis. It feels as though we are sharing our morning coffees, or our afternoon snacks, or our evening glasses of wine together. As a result, the conversation flows as only it can with true friends. I regularly find myself laughing out loud, all alone in a room as I make my way through the string of texts. My family and friends have come to understand that there are times when I'm lost to them, fully immersed in the roomie conversation, smiling, chuckling, and sometimes, crying my way through the discussion.
     Today, I celebrate this group of women: strong, smart, sexy, sarcastic, sympathetic, and sensational (I had to go with the alliteration once I got started). I'm so glad that technology has allowed us to stay connected even though life has led us down so many different paths. Keep the messages coming, girls!

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