Thomas Close: 10th Annual Christmas Party.

Whether we've called it a "get together" or "party," it is always a really nice time to catch up with great friends. On Saturday night, about 14 of my high school friends and I celebrated our 10th Annual Christmas Party. Although some people were unable to attend due to schedule conflicts and distance, the majority of us were able to come together. Even my mini-pal Leslie flew in from Idaho for her holiday vacation from the Air Force.

After 10 years, our tradition hasn't changed much. We've done a potluck and our version of White Elephant for the past several years. This year, our potluck included meatballs, eggrolls, LOTS of sushi (so delicious!), deviled eggs (my secret recipe), ginger bread balls, pumpkin cake, Christmas cupcakes, brownies, and more. We literally had a feast! The gift exchange went well too... even though people invented new rules about taking the gift you touch first. Sigh... I fell into that trap twice. In the end, I got some nice Idaho lavender potato bath salt. (Thanks Leslie! My mom will like that.) People seemed to like my gift contribution -- an inflatable dinosaur, volcano making kit, and astronaut food... all from the museum, of course.

It is nice being able to jump back in and talk to old friends like no time has passed at all. At one point, we circled up and shared updates on our lives. Then, many of use actually exchanged business cards! The thought of that makes me chuckle. Over the past 10 years, we went from bright-eyed high school freshmen to ambitious, working professionals. I already miss them all.