Just a simple walk...

I started to write this post yesterday...I named it "It's Tuesday and I'm fat....welcome to Fat Tuesday" even...but as I wrote I decided that what really went on in my little world could not be written without some more thought about what I really had to say.  But it started like this...

I got up and went to the gym...a conditioning class.  30 seconds of jumping rope, 20 hops over a rope, 10 push ups, and then a minute of sit ups.  Over and over and over again.  Initially, I thought I was going to die, but about 15 minutes into it I pulled my heart out of my throat, stuffed it back down and kicked into gear.  I was covered with sweat when we were done.  Then I met my girls at the lake to take a walk.  It was cold and gray and white.  Actually, it was beautiful.  My nose and ears were frozen but we walked a couple of miles and talked.  I decided I would talk them into coffee...or as I say..cawfee.

We headed to a coffee shop and solved the world's problems.  I looked up at the clock at the bank across the street and it was 11:45...."We should go to lunch and isn't it 5 o'clock somewhere?" I said.  Better than that, my friend said..."It's Fat Tuesday"...Oh yeah baby...off we went.

So that was the start of yesterday and today I will finish the post.  After a night of thought, heres what  I really felt happened with my women friends and our time together. We went to walk to move our bodies talk over things that were going our lives.   There were answers for some of us and not for others.  At times, we became angry, sad, or overcome with joy and felt so alive.  Isn't that the essence of this life?  To think that we met for an hour long walk at 9am and to end up having drinks at 2pm with the same group that was not really done being together... 

I am a social being and I love hanging with my girls...I do.  As I get older, I spend less time with other people and more time with myself.  That's okay...it is.  I remember when I was a pre-school mom or a grade school mom and I sat and talked at the playground with my friends for hours while our kids played.  It's not so easy now.  It takes plans and phone calls and texts to get together.  And,  most of us have gone back into the workforce in some capacity so there are no hours on the playground to spend talking. 

It seems easy to plan a walk with friends.  It hits all the important "shoulds" that we middle aged women need to do.  Get dressed, move and have a cup of coffee for some social time if you are lucky.   Most of the time, there are a million things I've planned to do after the walk and there is no way that I can waste a moment.  But yesterday was different.  I sensed that we needed to be together.  When I mentioned lunch, I could see us all waiting...waiting for someone to say no because we all really wanted to keep talking and being together.  Thankfully, no one said no.  After we decided where to go, we ran down the street like we were 19 year olds skipping class...like we were getting one "over" on someone.  It felt magical and even a little dangerous and I haven't felt that in years.  See how we get so complacent in our routines?  We ate good sandwiches and had drinks...screwdrivers and bloody marys and vodka and cranberry...and sipped and listened and loved each other.  There is nothing better than feeling a sense of belonging and love from my girlfriends.

So to my girls...I had the time of my life yesterday.  Sure we had our moments and you know what I mean...but it meant alot to me to be able to let go, talk about whatever came to my mind and not be judged.  It also meant alot to listen and know that we love and trust each other with our very lives...I haven't had that kind of friendship since college and man, it feels good.

So where do we meet for next Tuesdays..."Tuesday Boozeday"?
We'll tawk later,
I love you all,
Terry