Staycation 2012 - Friday #1

It all started the Friday before Memorial Day with a serious craving for hot spinach and artichoke dip from a local pizzeria and billiards joint - one that is nowhere near where I live, but happens to be on my way home from dropping Natalie off with her Dad. It was a date.

Me, the dip, and some wine.

At the last minute, before I rolled into town, I was tempted to join a friend at another (newer) eating establishment in our swanky downtown. Tempting as it was, I decided to stick with my original plan and feed my original craving and doing ...

Exactly. What. I. Wanted.

As it turns out, another good friend joined me and we had a fabulous time catching up and laughing. She also did me a big favor that night. Earlier in the day, I was caught off-guard by an unexpected response to something I observed. The thoughts that ran through my mind at that moment were not characteristic of who I am and how I choose to respect people. I was both perplexed and disappointed in myself.

For the most part, I tried to shrug it off and put it out of my mind for a bit. At least until I was in the therapy chair, at the bar, under the influence of therapy sauce (wine) ... and in the presence of someone I could trust with this icky part of me. She's such a gem! In one short sentence, she summed up the loss I was feeling, an underlying motivator or trigger for my reaction. She also, without justifying my response nor chastising me for it, acknowledged the mysteries behind that loss ... and in doing so, affirmed my value as a lovable person.

Crap! I just now realized I should have paid her tab! Well, you know who you are, so next time the drinks are on me, my wise, young friend.

By the time we parted, it was still such a gorgeous evening outside, so I headed home to stargaze from the trampoline. On my way home, I drove past a swanky wine shoppe and noticed people sitting outside on the patio, drinking wine, and enjoying the evening. I thought to myself, "Man! I wanna drink wine, on a patio, at a hipster wine shoppe on this lovely night.” And so I did. I turned around, went to the wine shoppe, ordered a fantastic Malbec (a French label, of all things), and enjoyed the peacefulness, the wine, and the lovely night air.

Within the hour, a couple more friends joined me on the patio, and thanks to a hilarious Freudian slip, we were reduced to giggle fits within moments of their arrival. We laughed and shared and laughed and shared ... until about 1AM.

And then I went home to gaze at the stars from the trampoline.

Cheri

P.S. Gosh that night was fun! Kind of reminds me of when I was a tween and I wanted to stay outside all hours of the night playing with my friends. Something about the beautiful night air (and maybe youth!) gave me extra energy. Do you remember beautiful summer nights that beckoned you to stay outside and play or gaze at the starry sky all night long?