Best Forever Friends (Part 2)

ON FRIENDS
Some time ago I wrote a post on best forever friends. Before this summer is over, I will have seen quite a few friends and family from my past. 

At the end of this week, I'll be sharing a cup of coffee with a woman who was one of my very best friends in high school. We've kept in touch by email and FB over the years. I cannot remember the last time I saw her in person. She happens to now live in the little coast town where we'll be staying for my cousins' reunion. How lucky am I? 

ROAD TRIPS
In September, another high school BFF is flying from Juneau directly into our itty bitty airport where I'll pick her up and we'll be taking a road trip to Montana to spend a couple days with another friend we haven't seen in many moons. I haven't seen my Juneau friend since her wedding day 12 1/2 years ago. I'm super excited to see her and the road trip is like a big, fat cherry on top. It won't be the first road trip we've taken together. When I lived in Alaska, we traveled from Anchorage (or was it Fairbanks?) to a gold mine where another high school friend was living and working. I had never been to a gold mine before so besides seeing our school mate, it was an exciting adventure. I've since lost the photos from that trip. Darn it.

WHAT DO YOU DO
What prompted this post is that recently my step daughter was talking about missing her class reunion. She still lives in the same town where she graduated. Even so, she didn't recognize most of the names of people she graduated with. She has a handful of good friends she has kept up with and spends time with on a regular basis. She has been a shining example to me of how to keep those friendships alive. We decided attending a class reunion is a lot about comparing notes on our station in life. Who needs that?

FRIENDS REALLY ARE THE FLOWERS IN LIFE
I never expected that I would stay in touch with old friends so long. I moved away from my little hometown where I graduated from high school and pretty much never looked back. Not to get all gushy but friends really are the flowers in my life. I have a big field of them and each one is special. I don't really care much what they do for a living, I am far more interested in how they are living. 

Have you reconnected with anyone lately? I'd love to hear about it!

love, susan

Top 10 Things I Love About Today

I recently heard someone say that they always end their workday by coming through the door and telling their loved one the best thing about the day. Yesterday when I got in the car, he asked me what the best part of my day was and I said, "right now".  

Today, I'll try to be a little more specific.

TOP 10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT TODAY (so far)

• It's Tuesday.
• The a/c is working well in my office. Not so much at home.
• I remembered to bring protein for lunch. 
• I also remembered some fresh pineapple leftover from the weekend for my lunch.
• Nobody has yelled at me yet today.
• Remi escaped from the front door this morning while I was walking the other dogs. She found us half-way up the block. Dumb dog. Oops. That's kinda negative.
• It's almost 1:00pm as I write this, which means half my work day is complete. Love that!
• My housekeeper is going to reschedule with me since the a/c is not working. Love that woman.
• I got a couple of texts from my friend who is traveling in Utah today.
• I have 10 things to be happy about ... see above.

It's easy to name the negatives.  If you don't think so, just try naming 10 Things You Love About Today and leave it in my comments.  

love, susan

Snapping Out of It!

I'm in a slump today. It comes in waves much like fluffy white clouds passing through an otherwise perfectly sunny day.  You know the kind I'm talking about. The bright, Clorox bleached white  clouds that pass by the sun and block off the warmth while you're laid back in your favorite lawn chair. The kind of cloud that makes you feel a little chilled for a moment. Or, sometimes gives you relief from the blazing hot sun. You look up to see if the clouds are moving because all you want is that direct sunlight to come back and you try to guess how long those clouds will stick around. You make a decision about whether or not you're going to stay in that chair based on the movement of those clouds. 

 

Yeah, that's how I'm feeling today after spending a wonderful, perfectly sunny week with my kids. The mental clouds have been coming and going since we dropped them off at the airport early yesterday morning. Thank goodness I had plans on my calendar yesterday so I had something to look forward to and take my mind off how quiet and empty my house felt once they were gone.  Which, I realize, is a silly statement as I write it. There is nothing quiet or empty about my house. I just miss them. Terribly.

 

I'm going to get on with my day now but I needed to write. I haven't written in a lot of days. I've been on vacation. I've slept in, eaten bacon and peppermint ice cream. I've watched movies and talked and listened. I've hugged and loved on my kids as much as they'd let me for an entire week. I believe I asked them every question I've kept to myself since the last time I saw them two years ago. I ran out of questions just as it was time for them to travel home.

 

I'll snap out of it. I'm going to get out of the lawn chair now and mow the lawn. I'm going to brush my dogs and cut my husband's hair. I'm going to find a dress to wear to an event we're attending next weekend. I'm going to get on with my life. I don't like it here in under the clouds so I'm going to move.

 

love, susan