Roadtrip!

I do love me a good roadtrip. Tomorrow I will drive up good ol' I-81 to Gettysburg, PA, for a reunion of the NY Pinochle Team. These three ladies and I played cards more or less weekly for 15 years. Now, Anita's husband has decided to become a minister, so we're all packing up and meeting at their new place at his seminary school. We're calling it the Girlfriends Support Tour. Last year, the Tour came to my house in Tennessee--it's only right that we meet at Anita's new digs this year.

Then on Wednesday, I'll travel west to Columbus, OH for the Longaberger Bee. This is my annual Girlfriends Slumber Party with basket friends from East-Central Pennsylvania. I missed it last year, being on the west coast with my family. These great ladies were so supportive throughout my trauma last fall, I've just got to go and whoop-it-up with them this year. For three days, we'll eat too much, drink too much, shop too much and laugh all the time. On Saturday, I'll come back through Lexington, KY and visit with Bill's cousin Jean. Just 6 days of non-stop fun with my sisters. I think of it as necessary Mental Health Maintenance.

I wasn't really a girly-girl growing up, but I always had a good time with girlfriends. I was a scout from Brownies to Seniors, and some of my best times were camping trips, scout gatherings and the river trips down the Colorado with them. Later, in college and my twenties, I spent more time in male venues like the radio station and newspaper, and most of my friends were boys.

But when I had children, girlfriends again became ultra-important. We shared the trials and tribs of raising our little hellions. We laughed, we cried, we shared and eased each others' burdens. We were there for each other when parents died, when husbands went AWOL, when life got hard. I don't know what we would have done without the support of each other. So many times when Bill was away at sea, my friends came to my rescue, and I'd like to think I returned the love and support I received by being there for them when needed too.

When I was diagnosed, I couldn't have anticipated the incredible outpouring of love and support I got from my sisters. We really are all in this life together, and friends and family are what makes the troubles in life bearable, and the triumphs all the sweeter when shared. The fact that I'm "back" requires some group celebration. And as we continue on our individual journeys, we still want to be there for each other through the changes that continue to smack us around.

Today is packing day. I need to cut-down a pair of pajamas for summer use, (long sleeves and long pants-legs do not work in my current night-sweats persona) and throw things in a bag. Bill has already checked the car out and gotten everything in shape for the drive. He jokes that it's been so long since I took a trip without the dog, I'll be looking in the rear-view mirror for her ears sticking up, and think I left her at the last rest stop when I don't see her in the car.

I'll miss Bill (and yes, Echo too), but the pull of wanting to see my BFFs is stronger. I can't wait to get on the road.