The Girls

Each week I go to lunch with three of my friends. They are affectionately known as "the girls". These are friends that I have had for several years now. It's actually kind of funny how we all became friends.



My friend Lora and I went to school together. She was a couple of years ahead of me though and when she graduated she went off to college. We didn't keep in close contact although we did attend each other's weddings, see each other occasionally and keep up with each other through other friends. However when I came to work at Averitt, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Lora had come to work at Averitt just a few short months before I did.



At this point in the story, my next friend enters - Chasity. Chasity was in my training class when I began working at Averitt. I remember her from Orientation Day. She already seemed to know so many people and if she didn't know them then it wasn't long before she would. One of the friendliest people I have ever met. And she is the first person to introduce me to Salads and More as well as City Square Cafe in Cookeville. When our time in training was complete, we were actually separated to other teams. I would occasionally see her in the breakroom, going to/from work, or via email. But that was about all.



At this point in the story, my next friend enters - April. When I came out of training, April was my neighbor. Working in a call center, there is no way to get trained on all the possible calls you might receive. There were many times that I put a customer on hold to pop out of my chair and ask April a question. April had been working at Averitt just a few months herself but she was very kind and helpful. After about nine months, I was transferred to another group in the customer service department. It wasn't but a couple of months later that we had an opening in our group. The leader was asking if we knew someone in customer service who would be a good addition to our team. My first thought was April so I made the suggestion. And in a couple of weeks April was a member of our team. We've worked together now for nine years.



About seven years ago our team was integrated into another department. This was towards the end of my pregnancy with Jonah. I went on maternity leave in September and returned in December. When I returned, there had been two people leave our department. And you can guess who filled their places - yes, Lora and Chasity. For the next few years all four of us worked together. We made it a weekly habit of going to lunch each Tuesday at City Square Cafe until it closed. A short time later, Lora's husband Jody who was in the National Guard was called up to serve in the war in Iraq. During this time she left Averitt and was working part-time at a store as well as giving private piano lessons. She was also very involved in the family group for the National Guard that her husband was deployed with. However we continued with our weekly lunch dates.



Then about two years ago my friend Chasity left Averitt to pursue a new opportunity in the world of insurance. However, the weekly lunch dates continued. And to supplement the lunch dates we instituted a girls night. Our birthdays are almost exactly and very conveniently three months apart. So every three months we enjoy a girls night to honor a friend's birthday. We've been on boat rides on the lake, four wheeler rides in the woods, a lovely dinner and a movie in Knoxville, walked around downtown Nashville.



We've also enjoyed some girl weekends. Our first trip was obviously very exciting - New York City. Wow....what a way to start. We enjoyed Times Square, the Today show, the Lion King on Broadway, food, laughter and tons of memories. We also took a weekend trip to the Smoky Mountains last year. We visited Dollywood, ate, talked, laughed, and made lots more memories.

Our friendships have seen births and deaths, laughter and tears, highs and lows, wins and losses, fear and hope. The most important thing is that we have had friends to share it with.