Just Say No to Cardboard...

Happen to be the most unmarried, married woman on the planet...or at least that's how it feels tonight. Hopped on a plane less than 12 hours after signing on the dotted line "Mrs. Frechin" for the first time and came back home to face piles of cardboard, a child who does/doesn't want to move based on some intangible something not yet identified, and a husband who's busy making a place for us and not as readily available to talk as he was before we got married. I've willingly walked away from a job....call me crazy for doing this during a recession and send me to the shrink's chair if you feel like it. We aren't leaving "family" behind. Those folks live many miles away or are too busy to stop and enjoy the blessings of family...I grieve the things they've traded for a fast-paced life...but that's their business, not mine. However, I am leaving the "family" that's sprung up around us and this hurts even more since friendship is a gift freely given. My girlfriends are awesome women...they call and watch my kiddo...extend invitations to slumber parties with her friends and in general lift me up and point my face to the sun...fishing my sunglasses out of the Gulf of Mexico with their toes if necessary. Laid in bed for awhile tonight feeling such a sense of loss where family is concerned and realized I've had it all along.
As far as the cardboard city we've got going on in our home....it won't last forever and I've had a chance to weed out a lot of unsavory items which velcroed their way into our treasure a long ago. One thing that's tucked in and around the remaining crystal vases and stuffed animals is the support of the women I call friends...it's a priceless gift I've been given and I'm grateful for it.

Old Friends....New Memories

I've had some of the sweetest friends growing up....still growing in case you're wondering. It's a life-long project for me. Besides, who wants to lose the right to kick an icecube under the fridge or paint their toes bubblegum pink with "diamonds" and butterflies on the big ones. Lost contact with two who are very close to my heart for about 20years and 'poof' they're back. Joy! Listening to them talk is like wallowing in a sense of comfort and well-being. Catching up on so much time was quick...a photo album here, a hug and a tear over there...the only think marking time was a kiddo and one hubby (well, two, but you're not here sweetheart). The memories it stirred in me are so special.....the old women at the Ricky Van Shelton concerts with their lighters....trying to find an unlocked bathroom in Selma - well, trying to find an unlocked anything in Selma, AL...car shows...and hours and hours of talking...moving...listening...laughing. I'm grateful for the friends in my life....all of them. Each and every one rubbed shoulders with me and left a bit of their sparkle behind. Am reminded I get self-absorbed at times and am not the kind of friend I should be, BUT a good girlfriend will shrug her shoulders and blame it on boy problems or PMS...cuz that's just what we do.