Moving Forward

It's Been Too Long

"When was the last time we were all together?" I look around at the Friends cast, almost not wanting to get an answer.

They all think about it for a while, knowing that it has been much longer than any of us want to admit.

"I guess a whole year..." David finally says "This sucks. We really need to stop breaking our promises."

"Actually, it's been longer than a year." Lisa mumbles.

We all glare over at her, not wanting to face the fact that our lives have become so busy. In the almost 2 years that the show ended, we've all been pushed into so much.

"It just doesn't seem like that long. I mean, I just saw Jen last week when we met up with her and Brad, and David, Matthew and I did that road trip."

Matt gets up, walking over to the balcony, drink in hand as he leans over to take in the view.

"What happened to us? We swore this wouldn't happen."

"We grew up." I sadly admit "We fell into the trap of adulthood and parenting and I love it, but it sucks."

We all sit there in silence, thinking over everything about our new lives we want to share, but also not wanting to take away from the fact that we're all here to think back on the show that has given us so much.

"Look how big the kids are getting." Matthew says, watching them run around "I still remember when they were actual babies. When we would sit around and hold them for hours letting them nap so they wouldn't sleep for you guys at night. Now they're growing up to be little brats that won't even share their ice cream anymore."

"Oh yeah, we loved it when you would let them sleep all day." Lisa walks next to him laughing "You can have him anytime now. I'm sure he would love it."

"I remember helping Brad with Ava the day she accidentally drank half a cup of beer. We were so scared of what you would do." David looks over at me laughing "We were so lucky she couldn't talk much yet."

"Yeah, and dumb enough to tell me when I probably wouldn't have ever figured it out."

We look out at the yard for a while in silence, all thinking of other funny memories. Watching the kids grow and play is a constant reminder to us of how fast time is going, and that we need to savor each moment.

I feel strong arms wrap as far as they can around me, and instantly know it's Brad. I turn to see him, and he greets me with a kiss.

"Food is ready. The kids have already picked apart what they want and left the scraps for us."

"Oh great. I'm so excited."

We all head outside to eat, and are greeted by an even bigger surprise. Brad managed to get the writers to join in on our little meet up as well, and they're all sitting here waiting for us.

"Oh my God!  You guys lied to us!" Court pretty much runs up to them "I can't believe you did that."

"I can't believe you guys actually fell for the lie that we were all away at the same time." Marta hugs us all "We would never miss this."

"Yeah, we miss the 6 of you." Kevin says walking over to us "Everyone else we work with just isn't the same."

"And these kids," David watches all of them "They were so little!"

"We know.  They're growing up too fast."

"How is the new show going?" Matt asks, starting a conversation "Have you casted anyone yet?"

"We casted 2 people so far," Kevin answers, looking to Marta and David for help.

"It's just not the same.  We need a third person and nobody seems to have the good chemistry you guys had." Marta adds.

"They seem really nice though, the two that we have so far." David says "We wanna try to have all of you visit sometime and show them what good friendship is."

We all laugh at the last part, knowing how lucky we got to all get along so well.  I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to work with every day.

"So how's everything going with everyone?" Marta looks around at us "Anyone have anything exciting?"

"Yeah, I just signed on for a new movie yesterday." Lisa tell us excitedly "It starts filming next month."

"I just finished my first episode of my new show." Court adds "I can't wait for all of you to see it, I think you'll like it."

Matt tries to act upset once he starts talking.

"Well, you all know what happened to Joey..."

"I thought it was a good show." I quickly try to make him feel better "America just wasn't ready to see all 6 of us."

"What's new with you, Jen?" David asks, avoiding us talking about himself "Besides the kids?"

"You mean besides the fact that I feel like my uterus is a breeding ground?" I say, making everyone laugh "I haven't been doing too much, I have a movie I signed on for once the twins are a few months old."

"You're so happy." Matthew makes fun of how miserable I seem when talking about this pregnancy compared to the others "Those kids are so lucky to have you."

"Shut up." I laugh, knowing that's what he's trying to make me do "I love them, this part just isn't fun."

"So what about you guys, David and Matthew?" Kevin doesn't let them get away with not talking "We want to know about all of you."

They look at each other, trying to decide who should go first.

"I bought a new house last month." Matthew finally answers "It's huge and I don't know what to put in it for now, but I like it."

"Yeah, I haven't done too much." David knows he doesn't have a choice "I'm thinking about moving to New York permanently, but I'm not sure yet."

"Whatever you do, we'll be there for you."