Recap

Wow! It is amazing how one or two weeks can stretch out to encompass a lifetime. It has been crazy around here as we get ready to put our house on the market next week. Scot leaves mid March for 8 weeks so we are trying to prepare for that - it is not going to be easy on our little family. It gives me incredible empathy for those who have loved ones serving overseas and the grueling separation that entails.

I am so thrilled that I got to go on my girl's weekend. It was pretty dicey there for a bit, but my mom swooped in and saved the day by offering to watch the boys. I'm not going to try to recap the whole entire weekend because my words will never do it justice. Suffice it to say that it was a full weekend of laughter, reality checks, calories, and long overdue face to face conversations.

I spent the majority of the weekend with the Yahoos in the mountains of Santa Fe where there was snow everywhere. It was absolutely beautiful. My friend's mom owns a house there and it feels so good to be in her home, I didn't want to leave.

We have a couple of time honored traditions that every girl's weekend must include. The very first night we have a "Clearing". We sit around in our pajamas and all 7 of us get uninterrupted time to share whatever has been going on in our lives so all of us get caught up at once. With 10 years of practice we have gotten very good at this and cut to the nitty gritty right away. Some need more time than others, some need more Kleenex than others, but it is the perfect start to our weekend.

Our other tradition is to do Questions. We all come up with a designated number of questions that we write on slips of paper. The questions can be thought provoking, random, or completely frivolous. We take turns picking a question out of the question bowl and then go around the group answering it. There is always an enormous bowl of candy present during Questions with Twizzlers being a must-have. I can not even describe the kinds of conversations that have taken off from Questions......or the complete hysteria. It is one of my very favorite things about the weekend.

I absolutely MUST mention the spa we visited while in Santa Fe. We had all been there before so at least we knew what to expect this time around, but it is the most necked spa I have ever been to. It's Santa Fe and they very much embrace all things natural there.

For example......because I am sure all of you really want an example.......I had a hot stone massage with Jae Bird. For real, that was her name. Anyways, normally the masseuse steps out of the room while you hang up your robe and position yourself on the table. Plenty of time to tuck in all the parts that need tucking. Oh, no. Not at this place. Jae Bird announces to me that she needs me to hang up my robe and proceeds to just stand there waiting for me. I can only imagine the expression on my face, or what my "aura" was telling her, because she then quickly snatched up a WASHCLOTH to hold in front of her as a way of giving me privacy.

A washcloth. Have you seen me???? 5 foot 11 inches on a frame that has never been referred to as "waif-ish" and she holds up a washcloth. I took a deep breath and just went for it. Call me Flash......I guarantee the hanging of the robe, face down body placement with all necessary tucking has never happened faster. Ever.

I am completely and morbidly fascinated with this place. Women of all shapes and sizes all over the dressing room, drying their hair, chatting with friends sans any kind of clothing. For an incredibly modest girl, it was a very "I don't know where to look" kind of experience. And maybe I'm just a little jealous of the comfort these women felt with their bodies. It certainly goes against what society has engrained in all of us.

Yahoos......Misti, Jenny, Kris, Susan, Lisa, and Julie.....I love you. Thank you for an incredible weekend!

The last 24 hours of my stay was with friends of mine from high school. One of them even drove in from Colorado and I am so very thankful she did. It was an intense 24 hours as the life reality of the last 20 years since high school came crashing down all around us. It was an intense time of catching up with each other mixed with the emotions that come from revisiting a place that holds all my childhood memories. It was a bittersweet time for me......more sweet than bitter......but I wouldn't trade those hours for anything in the world.

Melinda, Kay, Deb, Danica, and Bonnie......it was so wonderful to see each of you. Thank you for the most honest and authentic day. I love you guys!

I returned home to a flurry of activity with Nathan scoring his first part in the musical Annie. It is a very small part as an Apple Seller, but he gets some good stage time being part of the Company and I have relished my backstage role. I am the Fly Girl which means all the stuff that comes in from the ceiling is my responsibility. With rehearsal every single night last week and 3 performances this weekend I feel like I have been out of the loop around here for weeks.

Oh, and for those of you who pointed it out to me, I did know about Beth Moore's new book and the ironic timing of its release with this post. I haven't purchased it yet, but it's on my To Do list!