The past weekend was pretty incredible. My gay husband (best friends all through college and beyond - 22 years) drove up from the bay area to stay with us for the weekend. I definitely needed the friendship love fest 2010.
I took off early from work on Friday and our weekend started with a big gab-session and a bottle of wine. It's been a year and a 1/2 since we've seen each other. We chat, text and email a lot, but our schedules got crazy and several visits were canceled for various reasons.
Photo disclaimer: The backyard looks like shit, major weed alert... and I'm never wearing a see through white shirt under that vest...ever again!
Paul and I have so much in common, it's scary. We shared the same major in college. Our birthday's are 1 day apart. We share the same OCD tendencies. We have a love and passion for all things unique. We both make a living as designers. We have so many "OMG, do you remember when?" stories that it drives everyone around us crazy. We think it's totally normal to stalk people on Facebook. We have both ramped up our cooking skills in the past year, we are both forever dieting and wow can we be bitches. :o)
Saturday was spent thrift store shopping and antique hunting. We finished the day cooking in the kitchen for an impromptu dinner party. We hit BevMo for the 5 cent wine sale...then the Nugget for groceries. Cocktails were consumed while cooking - WAY TOO MANY cocktails. We still managed to crank out grilled chicken, braised red cabbage and mashed potatoes. So freakin' good. We played Rock Band until we lost our voices and until the wine made it next to impossible to read the lyrics.
We spent Sunday getting Hilly's room ready for her arrival. A gay husband, the real husband and a wannabe interior decorator = awesome combo.
Sunday evening was mellow. We hit Trader Joe's and then went out to dinner.
The last couple of days have been a blur. Work is really heating up and I feel like I'm being pulled in 100 different directions. It's been non-stop. I got home Monday night and was so touched by some things I got in the mail.
Higgy is set. He got some gourmet doggy treats and the sweetest cards from everyone at the pet store/groomer and from my aunt. I got pretty choked up...so many people love my baby.
Then....
Tonight I get home to find a pile of cards in the mail. I honestly thought? WTF? Did the mailman get the wrong mailbox? I opened the first card - it was from an amazing woman in my daily email group. It was a wooden letter "A", with a $10.00 bill wrapped around it. Huh? I opened the next card and it said some incredible things about my friendship with another special person from my email group - it included the letter "U" and a check for $10.00. I continued opening cards as tears poured down my face. Hilly can vouch for me...it was the kind of cry that just warms your entire heart. I could barely read the cards out loud. Card number 3 had the letter "B" with the simple words "Enjoy your mystery gift - Love you" and - I kept going. Card #4 had the letter "M" - "love you" and 10 more dollars. The last card had adorable graphics and some really sweet words written on the inside. It included another $10 and the letter "Z" with puffy stickers - My 5 wonderful Internet friends (Whom I've never met in person) filled my mailbox and heart this evening.
I pieced everything together and my surprise was that they paid for my Zumba classes for the next 5 weeks. More tears...lots of tears. I'm so honored to call all of these women my friends. We've been through so much together. Surgeries, injuries, illnesses, weight loss ups and downs, shared victories, hysterical kid and dog stories, holidays, etc.
Email and the Internet are a powerful force. I met all 5 of these women through this blog. When people question the validity of online friendships...I will send them a link to this post.
Thank you, thank you, thank you...for the gift of friendship, dance and for lifting my spirits when I needed it the most. I love you all.