Tag Archives: laughter

Dear Friends (better than Old Friends)

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I had the privelege of spending the weekend with my dearest (and oldest) friends … well, they’re almost my oldest friends and they’re certainly a very special group. Seven of us met at Barrie’s home in Sarasota, FL. We’ve been friends since our freshman year at Wells College in Aurora, NY. We were all in the same dorm that year.

I’m not sure how we really became friends but we did. Some were roommates freshman year, some shared classes, but we all shared Wells. I lived down the hall from Carrie who roomed with Bobbie who’s now deceased (breast cancer) who was in Spanish with Nell, who was roommates with Jennifer … and on it goes. We’ve been friends for (how can it be?) 36 years! Thirty-six years! That’s more time than some of our friends got on earth. Some of us have children who are older than we were when we met. We’ve been through a lot together. I told you already that I didn’t end up graduating with my class. We’ve been through rehab, AA, Al Anon, divorce, cancer scares, cancer (breast, colon, thyroid, throat, significant others with cancer, deaths from cancer, alcoholism, sobriety, depression, unemployment, heartbreak, boyfriends, girlfriends, children being born, children with addiction, entitlement, marriage of children, separations and reconciliations.

These are remarkably strong women. Accomplished women . Wonderful daughters, friends, wives, mothers. Business owners, consultants, stay-at-home moms, marketing whizzes (is that how you’d spell it?) Beauties inside and out.

We used to get “plastered” and “plowed” and “smashed” together and ride on the “meat wagon” back to school from Ithaca. It’s so much simpler now. A glass (maybe two) of wine and a seat around the kitchen counter or dining room table and we’re all good. We laugh until we cry. We remember our lost sisters and mothers and fathers … some of us are orphans, finally real adults after the passing of both parents. Some of us are struggling with our parents’ aging bodies and minds. Some of us are fortunate to have parents who are still (mostly) “with it”. Today we all love to sit on the beach or around a pool or wander around together while shopping, stopping to have our photos taken with the seven statues in the middle of Saint Armonds Circle in Longboat Key, critiquing the other people on the sidewalks, patting their dogs, having a coffee or a frozen yogurt or some fudge. (Did you ever get your fudge, Bets?) We can get locked out of our houses and sit together on the front porch texting silly messages to our husbands and reading them aloud. We find joy when we’re together and embrace it as sacred space and time, joyful and rejuvenating at the same time.

We had a great weekend together and I’m so grateful to have these women in my life all these years later … time picks up where we leave it after each gathering and then we look forward to the next time (which will be in August in Virginia Beach)… Woo! Hoo!

 

Yarn Harlot

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Reading the blog today by the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl McFee, made me laugh my head off. She blogged about having to make a new hat because the old one made her head look like a penis. What a riot! It made me laugh because I, too, have a penis story …

When my eldest daughter was car-seat age or a little bit older, she was very inquisitive and extraordinarily verbal. On a regular basis, she asked questions repeatedly and made comments from the back of the car that we still tell stories about. (“Where is that darned McDonalds? Oh, dis makes me soooo angry”)

Anyway, on one particular day, she may have been in pre-school or maybe even up to first grade. I may have had a baby boy by then. (Can you tell that my memory for when things happen isn’t so good?)  But I had to run into CVS to find something and when she asked what I was looking for I replied, “penis lights. A string of penis lights”. Ha! Go figure … why I came up with that response, other than that I knew she wouldn’t ask about it any further because body parts were simply “gross”, I have no idea. But it still tickles my funny bone.

And, Stephanie, your new hat is lovely!

Lacey Thong on the Beach – Merry Christmas!

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And what a Christmas it was!

You’ll notice I wasn’t blogging because I was trying to finish all the knitting projects for gifts and get everything purchased, wrapped, packed and mailed to my family all over the country. Big brother in LA, sister in AZ, brother in CA, brother in MA and kids in OH, IL, and GA/NY. I love having a growing family! Who knew that it would be increasing exponentially after I turned 50!?

In addition to all that Christmas buzz, my younger brother decided to get married in CA on the Winter Solstice. He’s only 51 years old and never been married! We were all invited to share the nuptials and a week of family time at Stinson Beach, CA.

This is my handsome brother (who wore a suit!) and his lovely bride. My new sister. I still get all teary-eyed when I look at them together. They are truly soul mates. They met in a coffee shop and Abbie tried to match my brother up with her friend Julie. Three years later, they were a match made in heaven. It was the most beautiful wedding ceremony that I’ve ever been privileged to witness – intimate, personal, every bit a reflection of them as a couple.

They aren’t Jewish but with respect for all cultures were married under a huppa (chuppa) which represents the home that the couple will build. Sweet! My brother, the bridegroom, and my son (who wears a different name in California) built the huppa in the garage. When it was time to bring it to the beach-side patio wedding site, it was too big to bring through the house and to wide to bring around the house. So, in typical fashion, it went over the house! Here are my brothers and my sweetie on the beach side of the house after much finagling!

And this is our sweet bride-to-be with her underwear that someone found on the beach. You can imagine the giggles that went on after that find! Abbie handled it all with her wonderful sense of humor and ability to laugh at herself. One of the seven shih tzus (yes, seven! … my two, my brother’s two, my new sister’s two and her sister’s one) who attended the wedding had stolen the pretty lacy panties and traipsed off to the beach to hide them from our bride. She handled the ribbing with grace and humor. What a good sport – and we’re so lucky to have her as the newest member of our family!

We woke up extra early on the first morning we were there (the Winter Solstice, the full lunar eclipse and the wedding day) and watched a beautiful sunrise over San Francisco. Awesome is a great word to use for this experience. The power of the surf, the sound of the sea birds, the breeze (well, perhaps wind is more appropriate!) along with the beautiful sight of the sun rising was a once-in-a-lifetime treat!

I look forward to sharing the new local yarns that I found out there on the left coast! But for now, I hope my photo of sunrise and the pathway to the house will encourage you to take a deep breath, sit back and think of how lucky we are to witness the glory of this earth. With the Pacific Ocean on one side and the mountains on the other, this was a perfect setting for a wedding and a week of family time. I am truly blessed. It was a merry Christmas.

Wishing you peace.
Wishing for peace on Earth.