20 years

My mother-in-law has 6 friends that have met every year for the last 20 years. She is 62 and the oldest in the group. There is a 10 year difference between Margarette and the youngest. They always meet on the last weekend in April, so she missed for our wedding and she missed one other time to go hiking with a different friend and she took all kinds of flack for that decision. Another member missed once while she lived in the Philippines with her military husband. None of the others have missed, even when two, who are sisters-in-law, weren't speaking to each other over some family issue. They used to arrive on a Friday and depart on a Sunday, but now some of them will arrive on the Thursday. Four of them live in Charleston, SC, so those four always drive together. At the beginning they all went to the same church in Charleston and this started when the military one was about to move away. It was like a going-away party weekend for her. Now wherever they meet, it is within driving distance of Charleston. They wish they had suspended that rule and come to SA for our wedding. At one point in the early days they left 22 children and infants at home while they went off for their weekend. (Patrick is the oldest of 4 and the other families are large-ish also). They take minutes and keep them in a binder. Minutes from a few of the early years have been lost, but they love looking over the old ones that remain as they are generally hilarious.

I was wondering if we could try something like this for the high school crowd. It is probably impractical to do it every year and we could bring families if we wanted, as some of the spouses enjoy the group as much as the Mac folks. I like the part about the same weekend every time so people know way in advance to keep that weekend open if possible. Something to think about. Suggestions welcome.