"Old" Friends

This is my excuse for not writing in this blog all week:

Four girlfriends came to visit for a girlfriend’s getaway, and nonstop talking, leaving no time for me to write! We all grew up in Ohio but now live far apart, me in Florida, Connie in Kansas, Susan in Colorado, and Nancy in California.

These girlfriend get togethers are our chance to talk without being judged, to listen without being bored, to cry till we laugh and laugh till we cry.

Since my divorce, one of the things that takes some getting used to is making decisions all by myself, knowing no one else is vested in what I decide, and that no one else’s life will be seriously or directly effected by my daily choices. Sometimes there is no clear indication or feedback, that what I’m thinking is reasonable. It’s a weird feeling after so many years of marriage and having two opinions involved. This new singular decision process makes me just a little bit nervous.

But, my girl friends were here this week. I went to high school with these three girls and we have gotten together for the last seven years, lately, twice a year. Finding a time and place to meet is really important to us. We talk. We eat. We talk. We walk. We talk. We sit. We talk. We sleep. We talk some more. We know each other well enough to be honest and we love each other enough to be kind and supportive even if we don’t necessarily agree. (Kind of like a marriage ought to be.)

What do we talk about? Well, it is really just between us girls, so I will have to whisper. We talk about our families, our jobs, politics, and the weather. We talk about our worries and our joys. We talk about finances, and our travels. We talk about anything and everything. We laugh like crazy about stuff and we ask very personal questions, and we spill our hearts out. We then, say it all over again. We would bore husbands silly.

For me, this was an opportunity to get feedback. Am I crazy? Am I OK? Am I being redundant, depressive, repressive, reasonable, unreasonable, or smart? Am I in denial? Do I seem OK? Considering?

They helped me survive high school and they are helping me survive divorce. Up until last year, we could say that all four of us were still married to our first and only husbands. (Pretty unique in today’s world, wouldn’t you say?) They have no personal experience with divorce, but they couldn’t be more understanding and comforting. And they quietly let me shed a few tears.

I will visit each one of them at some point on my road trip around the country, because, each is a remarkable, sensitive, loving, intelligent, and extraordinary person who has made a difference in my life! Girlfriends are a blessing and I am grateful.

Being with the three of them is one of my best times.