My college girlfriends and I recently went on an early Spring Break trip to New York City. We took a cupcake tour with a guide who was 23, if that. Along the way we realized that, in our tour guide’s eyes, we probably looked like old ladies.

Twenty years ago we thought 40-somethings were ancient. Twenty years ago we were counting shots at a swim-up bar in Mexico, and now we’re counting steps on our FitBits, wondering how many more we have to take to balance out all of that frosting.

When I’m with my college friends I feel like I did 20 years ago, even if the lines around my eyes tell another story. Our lives, however, have changed. A lot. This Spring Break does not look like my 1994 break…

Spring Break 1994: Dance on a bar in Mexico, rocking some Ace of Base.
Spring Break 2014: Dance on the kitchen floor, to an endless loop of Let It Go.

Spring Break 1994: Briefly consider running away with Pablo, the Carlos ‘N Charlie’s waiter.
Spring Break 2014: Briefly consider running away.

Spring Break 1994: Blurry vision from tequila shots.
Spring Break 2014: Blurry vision from playing Farm Heroes Saga. Lining up produce is hard.

Spring Break 1994: Make out with a mysterious boy named Bear. (See: tequila shots.)
Spring Break 2014: Tear apart the house looking for a missing stuffed bear named… Bear.

Spring Break 1994: Pray I don’t get tangled in the ropes as I para-sail over a Mexican beach, barely attached to a speed boat that is older than I am.
Spring Break 2014: Pray my sheets don’t end up in a tangled, wadded mess in the dryer again. What is going on in the dryer to create that sheet burrito?

Spring Break 1994: Watch shirtless boys toss a Nerf ball on the beach.
Spring Break 2014: Watch my own shirtless boys have a Nerf battle in the back yard.

Spring Break 1994: Skimp on the sunscreen just enough to get a tan, or in my case, for my freckles to morph together.
Spring Break 2014: Wish I had not skimped on the sunscreen 20 years ago.

Spring Break 1994: Wake up around noon, discuss plans for the rest of the day over a poolside margarita.
Spring Break 2014: At the matinee of Mr. Peabody & Sherman by noon, after pre-purchasing the tickets 48 hours in advance.

Spring Break 1994: The smell of Coppertone and ocean air.
Spring Break 2014: The smell of… what is that smell in the play room?

Spring Break 1994: So much fun, I pray my children never, ever do anything so ridiculous.
Spring Break 2014: A whole different kind of fun that I pray my children remember with fondness, kind of like the fondness I feel for Pablo.

This post is dedicated to girlfriends everywhere, whether you’re partying in Mexico or walking off cupcakes in New York City. May your ever changing, ever evolving lives be filled with sweet memories, like the ones I have of Pablo. And of my friends and family. Them, too, of course.

*Photo Credit