A Perpetual Bond of Friendship

When I started my journey with Delta Delta Delta in August of 1981, I would never be able to understand how these women would still be a part of my life 38 years later.  (Well, actually my TriDelta journey started about 6 years before I became a pledge.  In the spring of 1975 (I think), when my sister Christy was in the house, she invited me to come and stay with her for a few days during my spring break.  Her roommate at the time Lori Hoalst, had a younger sister Lisa who was a year older than me, and she came, too.  We had so much fun for those few days running all over the house and making ourselves at home.  When I pledged in the fall of 1981, Lisa was there to welcome me again, as she had pledged the house the year before.)

Social media has certainly helped keep me in touch with people.  It helped some of us in our pledge class come together last fall for a gathering in Boise to spend the weekend catching up on each other's lives.

And then it happened again last weekend in Moscow, where we all lived at one time or another in the Delta Delta Delta house on the University of Idaho campus.

As a freshman pledge, you learn all kinds of things about the sorority, including the purpose of Delta Delta Delta.  I don't think as a freshman pledge you can grasp the meaning of what the purpose truly means.  Thirty-eight years later, I think I might get it.  This purpose became clear.

The Purpose of Delta Delta Delta shall be to establish a perpetual bond of friendship among its members, to develop a stronger and more womanly character, to broaden the moral and intellectual life, and to assist its members in every possible way.

It became clear as I went through the months of my mother failing in the local nursing home, and then passing away as the thoughts and prayers of countless Tri-Delta sisters, many of whom I had not seen in years, touched my life when I needed that love and compassion from others.

It became clear during the four years our youngest daughter Cosette was at the University of Idaho, and I would run into Tri Deltas on campus and always receive a smile and often a laugh with each and every one of them.

It became clear as I have learned about my pledge sister's adult lives.  I am amazed at the impact they are making on their communities as lawyers, judges, doctors, teachers, nurses, architects, business women, wives, mothers, grandmothers and volunteers, to name a few roles they play.

It became clear as the years just melt away, and you pick right back up where you had been with these women.  Some I saw last fall.  Some I had visited with throughout the last four or five years on the U of I campus.  Some I hadn't seen since the last Tri-Delta reunion I attended, back in 2009.  For others, it has been over 30 years.  But it didn't matter.

It became clear as I sat back and listened to the stories of these incredible Tri-Delta women who have dealt with aging parents, broken marriages and relationships, children with issues, and their own  issues. But these stories are part of what made these people the incredible women they are today.

It became clear as my sister Christy and I helped on the reunion committee for this reunion, and our excitement built as we started reconnecting with different people and started looking forward to seeing them come to Moscow.

It became clear as I listened to many of these women tell of their career path, and how many of them were pioneers in fields like computer science, where women had not had careers in this field before. I think back in the early 80's, we didn't realize we were breaking any kind of barriers.  I think we believed what we were told.  That we could pursue any career field we wanted.

It became clear as I visited with many of my sisters who had fond memories of Paul proposing to me I the living room of  the Delta Delta Delta house on the evening of December 10, 1984.

It became clear that despite the "not so perfect" lives we have all lead, that we have made it, we are strong women, and we have that perpetual bond of friendship that has lasted all these years.  And we have our sisters who love us.

The Tri Delta Greek Motto is: Asfalos Agapomen Allaylas…."Let Us Steadfastly Love One Another".  Again, I don't think I understood the meaning of this motto until later in life, when I realized I have a special bonds of love and friendship with my Tridelt sisters.

And the thing that amazes me, as I reconnect, especially with my pledge sisters, is realizing what incredible human beings they all are.  I just love being around them and spending time with them.  I love hearing their stories.  I love that another gathering is already in the works for this fall with my pledge sisters.  Thanks, everyone, for an incredible weekend!!

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