Once upon a time..the story of five friends

Once upon a time, in a community in mid-Missouri called Marshall, there lived a lot of very nice people.  Among those folks were Nancy, Sally, Carol, Mary and Gretchen.  These women were not gray-headed and old, as they are in the picture, but rather were young, vivacious, busy with homes, husbands, church, school and raising children.  They taught Sunday School together, shared leadership in Brownies and Girl Scouts, participated in Missouri Valley College activities, floated Missouri rivers, went on family camping trips, baby-sat with each other's children (it really DOES take a village to raise a child!), made apple butter together every fall for a total of 35 years, celebrated Mardi Gras with pancakes, brought in the New Year in someone's home, and lived their lives in love, laughter and harmony.  The years came and went...now the children are all grown, many have children of their own, most of those children live many miles away;  we shared our grief in the death of Gretchen's husband a few years ago; everyone is retired; and Mary & Gretchen no longer live in Marshall - Gretchen in Iowa and Mary in Texas.  But for this evening the end of March, we gathered at Cedar Crest Lodge in Pleasanton KS to enjoy an overnight together - sharing two meals, and reminiscing over our many years of blessed friendship...swapping stories of kids and grandkids, and being grateful for each other.
Thank you, dear friends, for a heart full of precious memories.