what the E stands for

I'm not sure how it all started. But I've been thinking about the e-ranch lately. The e-ranch is not a place any longer(but it started out as a place, the house on Wayfarer Court). Now it's just the four of us. E is for estrogen. Someone called us the estrogen ranch once, and it stuck. It even caught on.

First there were two of us, then three, and finally there were four. We just evolved. We moved into a house together, near strangers, and we moved out - dear friends. And now looking at the four of us next to each other, I see that we are very different, by comparison.

Suprising. Sweetly inexplicable. The ones who become the dearest in your life.

It's been years since we found each other. And it goes without saying that we've gone through plenty. Heartbreaks. Marriages. Around the world adventures. Cross-town moves. Babies. The usual. And then some.

There was even a time when the e-ranch had to reinvent itself in order to keep thriving. Not a conscious alteration, but a slow shift to allow breathing room for change and transition, let each other grow up, find a new dynamic for new times. I sometimes wondered if we would come out on the other end intact. But we did, no worse for the wear. And now I realize, it's the first of many reinventions we'll have to undergo - if we are to remain intact for a lifetime.

And the thing about the e-ranch these days - is that it's hardly exclusive. Each of us lead our own separate lives and have our own separate circles. And often, we will be out and about only in part, two or three of us at any given time. But more rare, and still very wonderful, is the four of us together all at once.

For a birthday lunch. Or a matinee movie. Or a day trip to the beach (Wendy's on the way there, Krispy Kreme on the way home). Or an afternoon at a borrowed pool. Or cupcakes and raspberry iced tea at my house for no reason at all. Except to talk - the most favorite of activities.

We are hardly perfect, you know. We've made a lot of mistakes with each other. But we've also done a few things right. And well. Because we still make each other laugh (out loud). And we speak candidly, because we've known each other now for a long while. And it is always a (deep down) relief to be with these ones - the ones who know you well and can tell your history for you. Because, after all, they were there to bear witness.

I still look around at these three faces (so pretty) and remember that grace has been extended to me at fragile times by these women. And when there has been cause for celebration in my life, they have sewn a silvery net of happiness around me. And when I think, really think, about these dear ones, I feel an unmistakable rush of tenderness and history and promise.

For the e-ranch girls.