Girlfriending

Girlfriending is a term that an old friend and I coined (we think) many years ago on one of our epic road trips. We drove halfway across the country in a tiny Honda Civic with credit cards, snacks, 7 mixed cds that we had made to help us power through the 16-hr drive, and a dream. These cds were no joke, either. They were all themed around travel, road tripping and pretty much anything else we thought was awesome at the time. Some, looking in from the outside, may have thought we were crazy. I disagree. We were setting a precedent that has yet to be surpassed. It was necessary. It was girlfriending.

I haven't ever heard anyone else use the word, but anyone who's ever done it effectively knows what it is. Need a working definition? Girlfriending is a single-minded determination to wring every ounce of joy out of a given situation with one, or a group, of your favorite females on the planet. Not because guys aren't a lot of fun or to be exclusionary, but simply because there is a certain magic to finding other women in the world who not only get you, but who you can both laugh with and potentially make a complete ass of yourself with. It usually involves some sort of out-of-the-ordinary experience, but doesn't have to, either. I've known some incredible girlfriending moments doing simple stuff like going for a jog or trying to buy alcohol in a Scottish grocery store at 7:01 pm on a Sunday night (You can't, you know. It's against the law, no matter how persuasive you think you are or how almost 6:59 it is. Give up; you will not win).

I've been thinking about the concept a lot, lately. Maybe it's because I've been in one of those sweet-spots where I've been able to connect easily with people. You know how that goes, sometimes? When it seems like all the stars align just right so that phone calls are always answered, emails are responded to the same day they were written and someone is home for the random drop-by? That kind of sweet-spot.

Maybe, too, it's because I'm so excited that one of my cohorts will be in my time zone for the first time in 6 months, this time, tomorrow. Whatever the reason, I've been having the time of my life reliving some of my best-of girlfriending moments from over the years. I'm so full and so blessed to have lived them all and to have so many incredible people in the hopper, ready to create new ones at any given moment. Or after we put the kids to bed, at least.

So, here is a short list of some good moments I've shared with great friends, neither chronological or in any particular order of importance, just so that I never forget what a great life I get to live. Thanks, ladies, for the adventure. You know who you are.

1) The birthday baptism & skinny dip
2) All-girl prom. Men were invited as bouncers & djs & we all got to be prom queen. 'Nuff said.
3) Two words: apple butter.
4) The Price Is Right. Ugh, I think my PTSD just came back.
5) Europe, 2007
6) Sunday night pillow fights
7) FNWBL
8) Fantasy football
9) Trifecta
10) Lady Marmalade
11) Probably every Thelma and Louise road trip I've ever taken
12) Progressive Sunday dinner: bread sticks from Fazolis, salad from Pasta House & cherry limeaids from Sonic. I'm surprised we are all still alive & have all of our teeth.
13) 'Name That TV Show' charades in Malawi.
14) California Dreamin'
15) Bob Dole's presidential campaign, 1988.
16) My entire junior year of high school.
17) John Burroughs

I'm only stopping because I could keep going. I'll let you stew on that one for a minute, then I demand that you all get out there and make a memory!