Let me hear it now: H-O-L!

Many long years ago, Lisa & I naively sat in various places across New England, dreaming & conversing.  Hashing out life as we knew it, and as we wanted it to be.

 Then, she married this boy.

We quickly discovered that we were all 3 cut from the same mold, and that the dreaming, conversing, & hashing could continue with barely an interruption.

Thus we marched through our 20s together.

We added some unexpected elements to our friendship as we went:  new locations, broken dreams, enhanced appreciation for elaborate food and drink, a funny little dog.

We also collected some nuances our dreaming hearts hadn't seen coming: laughter made precious through unanticipated tears, hope distinguished by the confusion it took to get us there.

And thus we arrived into our 30s, graciously.  Lovingly.  Knowing, and being known.

That would be why this past Saturday afternoon found us all in Johnstown Pennsylvania, touring Lisa's aunt & uncle's dairy.

Wearing hair nets.

You see, we have realized that a friendship like ours requires scheduled get-togethers, and so--we schedule them.  Religiously.  And turn them into grand events under the umbrella title HOL!, aka Hash-Out-Life.

[aka Lauren Lisa & Geoff Get Together and Hash Out Life.  AKA--we need to, and cannot imagine life otherwise.]

So, after a delicious Fall-lined drive back to my place, we jumped right into more traditional HOL events.

A main characteristic of HOLs (and Fall HOLs in particular....) is The Margarita Master.  He's a wizard.

And he pretty consistently manages to knock me off my feet every single time.

That would be why I stopped wandering around the kitchen pretending to be making dinner, declared myself useless, and plopped couchside...

...while Geoff finished dinner--a beyond ridiculous Pasticio that had us all drooling,

[In fairness to me, that meat sauce bubbling away in the front there was entirely my doing....before the tequila took over....]

....and, while Geoff and Lisa did the dishes.

[I'm telling you--my defeat was intense.  But--again, in fairness to me--my tequila ingestion is limited to HOLs, so I have absolutely no defenses built up against it.  Essentially, you could say I've been set up for disaster by the people I trust most.....Hm.]

Eventually, we ate (while angels sang in the background).

We laughed.

We hashed out life, 

with only minor moments of snarky commentary.

And we dwelt in that peace of knowing, and being known.

At some point I was able to get myself together enough to make us some dessert (because when I said to Lisa "I don't think we need dessert, do you?" she looked at me as if I was about to be cut off from tequila ingestion for all future HOLs.  As if I were crazy, and betraying everyone involved.)

And she was right, because here we are.  Once again.  Sitting together, having learned a few things that make us perhaps less naive but a thousand times more--in countless ways.  Eating some of the best apple crisp on the planet (if I do say so myself), restored in heart mind and soul.  Having conversed, having hashed.  Having reaffirmed: We are in this thing called Life, together.