I'm Back!

Howdy Y'all Bloggies! So, we are finally back from our little road trip. It was actually quite nice! The fields seem to be crusting over, though still too wet to get a machine in. So, the verdict is out on how bad things are...we just know that they were "alright" before, due to the drought. And, now, they are less than alright. My glass is half full though and the get-a-way did DH good. Kids were thrilled to stay in a hotel room. That's a big deal to them (personally, I don't walk bare foot on the carpets, bring my own pillow and check the mattresses for bed bugs). It was a nice place though (indoor pool and you could see it from the indoor balcony). I have lots of pics of the trip. DH said I was Japanese! LOL! You know, the old cliche where japanese tourist carry their camera and are clicking pictures everywhere? Yea, that was me. Street signs, stuff in stores, kids, etc. I'll upload those later. For now, I've still got all the unpacking and getting the house back in order as we left ubruptly, and also have some company in town that I want to visit with before they leave in the early a.m. The best part of the trip, I must say, was being able to pop in on my life long friend. I've know her since she was four. I think I was six or seven. She was sitting on the bench on her front porch as I was walking back to my Gramm's house from playing at a friend's. She was so sweet and so cute. "Hi!" She said. "Hi..." I said back. "Do you wanna' play? Do you wanna' be my friend?" She asked. We've been friends ever since. My childhood was a mess of constant relocation and upheaval but we always remained friends. Occassionally, a letter. Sometimes I'd spend the summer with my Gramm. Sometimes, I'd live with Gramm and my friend and I would walk to school together. And, so it went. Now we are grown and she and I are still very close friends, although life, different towns, etc., keeps us apart. She's ill. She has a wonderful husband and two beautiful children, four years and two years. Her kids and my kids played wonderfully together. We had such a great visit. We spent the night at their house and visited into the late hours (well, late for all of us). She's ill. The kind of ill that just interferes with life in general. That just craps on the quality of life by leaving you feeling crappy all the time. The kind of ill that never goes away. And, it breaks my heart. She is so strong and she is dealing, as we must do, with something like this. I just love her sooooooo SOOOOOOO dearly. I've always said how much I hated my childhood. No disrespect to my Mom or my Dad. They were young, and married too young, and then split...yada, yada. But, my fondest memories are of the sleep overs and all night stay ups we would play together. Trying to wait for "Mighty Mouse" or the sun to rise. We'd do our hair and wear leotards and choreograph these "fantastic" skits and dances. Then, we'd charge family members to come and see our performance. We'd play card games all night long. We'd fight and then one of us would call a few hours later -- wanting to play again. We'd eat the entire jar of pickles just so we could drink the pickle juice. My Gramm used to put sweet-in-low in her jar of pickles. She liked them sweet but was always dieting. Sometimes she would forget to mark her pickle jar with "a rubber band." And, we'd eat one. YUCK! We used to ride around on our bikes with kittens in our shirts. Her house and Gramm's house were just one house apart. I was a Senior her Freshman year of high school. I remember sneaking her into her house after she'd been out late one weekend evening with some friends and (as all high school kids do) had experimented with some "spirits." LOL! We did a pretty good job of covering in front of her mom. The hardes part was she was having twins stay over that night. Only one of them didn't meet up with them on time. YIKES! And, the one who was there was shitfaced had over indulged a little. Anyhow, somehow we all managed to make the appearance that "both" twins were there (until the other showed later). She's probably going to kill me for putting this on my blog! LOL! But, no one who reads this knows her (so no worries Gal!) Gosh what good times! Anyhow. I loved every minute of our visit. And, she's coming in next week and will come out with the kids for a day. I'm going to steal her away from her Mom and hopefully make her spend the whole night. I'll pamper her in my Queen of Sheba tub to soak away the aches and headache. I'll keep the kids happy and quiet the next morning so she can sleep in and get the rest, which is the only thing that can really help her not feel so bad all the time. And, I'll plaster her with some beer and vodka while we laugh and laugh before she is hopefully able to induce some good sleep. I can't wait! Anyhow, if you have a life long friend and haven't had that conversation or recent call. Pick up the phone. Plan a get together. Bask in the wonders and reminisce in the memories that only such a wonderful friendship can provide! Happy Friendships and Sunday!

I'm Back!