Love is blind..but friendship closes its eyes

One of the wonderful things about being home, is that you get to catch up with childhood friends that you haven't seen in ages and ages - and to laugh and reminisce about things that you have forgotten about...And to relive and laugh about crazy things that you did in a previous life.

My best friends South Wellington Intermediate School, Wellington East Girls' College and at Victoria University were Felicia McCarthy (aka Sia-Mozart), Helen Moananu(aka Helz), Suifou Masun (aka Fou) and Narie Savaiinaea.

Returning home, I have reconnected with this old group of sisters because Sia is getting married and we are helping her to prepare for it. We actually are preparing the wedding favors and centerpieces for the reception. We have come up with a funky, original centerpiece idea made up of golden sand (surreptitiously from Oriental Bay) dark sand ( boldly taken from Lyall Bay) flowers and rocks. It doesn't sound as good as it looks. But photo's will follow after the wedding.

In preparation for Sia's Hen's Night - we broke out our old College yearbooks and laughed and laughed about our old school days. I have forgotten so many things about myself. SCARY - I had conveniently forgotten the time I tried to have a fringe. I had forgotten my 3rd Form Teacher was Mrs Jordon-Kaa. My successful Young Enterprise Business was called SNAPP and we designed and sold skivvies. I forgot at school my group of friends and I were nerds, and that we were nicknamed The Boongas(yes, we are all Samoan). I was in the Kapa Haka Group in 3rd and 4th Form because I wanted to understand some things about the Tangata Whenua. At Intermediate our graduation song was That's what friends are for - Dionne Warwick, and my graduation song at College was Starmaker. I even saw a picture of myself at my sixth form ball. Lovely..

We are really different. We have different personalities, families, different experiences, different dreams and accomplishments. But, we still love each other and have found common ground to have a friendship.

I feel a little like George Eliot "What a wretched lot of old shriveled creatures we shall be by-and-by. Never mind--the uglier we get in the eyes of others, the lovelier we shall be to each other; that has always been my firm faith about friendship."