Day 4: Reunions and New Friends

A few months ago I made an executive decision: I was going to see my friends Mark and Iris this summer, for real.  Mark and Iris were friends from my Religious Studies days at USF. I met them both in a class my first year. Iris sat in front of me; Mark was the TA.  Iris and I became fast friends and ended up living together a few years later after I moved out of my parents.  Her and Mark started dating soon after and he became a frequent visitor of our apartment. Our second year living together, Mark joined us.  What a happy home it was.  

These are some of my favorite people. Ever. Those fond memories of being in collage, still young and harmlessly reckless but mostly silly, for me are imprinted with memories of these folks. A few others, of course, but Mark and Iris were part of the inner circle. 

After our second year of living together, they both graduated, packed their bags and moved to Boulder, CO. Five years flew by and I was still repeating the same mantra: I'll come visit next summer. Finally a voice in my head said, "Enough!" and I promptly bought plane tickets before any voice of pseudo-reason could get a word in. What a great choice that was. I brought my boyfriend, who was lovingly accepted into the family. He even found a friend who got all his obscure Simpsons references (Mark) and for that I'm sure he's thankful too. 

The four of us after a hike in the Rockies