For The Monday Night Ladies

I miss my Girl Time. 

Some Monday-Night-Time curled up on the couch with three or four or even sometimes five lovely ladies and red wine and those chocolate brownie bites.  I could use one of their hugs or all of their hugs, because they are all so good at hugging.  Warm, and comfortable, and supportive.  And rather than sit down tonight and type out that moment in time when they saved my butt with a hug and a bottle of champagne and a toast to failure (because, come on, failure does need to be toasted, it's important that way I've learned, and maybe they knew that then?) and then celebrated friendship with me when I hadn't had the honor of their friendship for very long... or rather than write coherently about the times we indulged in teenage delights with pride and enthusiasm and homemade sparkle underpants... or rather than list the thirty five nicknames (or more!) we have for one anther... well, tonight I'd rather just say that I miss my Girl Time and let that phrase hang in the air with all of its potential.  And, oh, is there potential, because these girls, these women, are extraordinary. 

And yes, collectively, we all have others that we would call best-friends.  The ones that we call snot-nosed sobbing when our world is ending (ending I tell you!) or that finish our sentences because that's just the way it has been for years.  (I'm lucky enough to have one of mine in this group - she can pop out my sentence before I've even formed the first word.) But together we're a tidal change to a bad day, professional stress, the pile of dirty dishes that never seems to disappear, and some of those relentless difficult decisions.  

These ladies swept into my life unexpectedly with style and grace and kindness and I miss them.  Every one of them separately and all of them together.  I'd love a few hours with them on the couch, around a table, next to the bar, walking down the cobblestone street... just a few hours of lessons on hair, shoes, boys, real laughter, kindness, joy, love...

So on this Monday night, I'd like to send out this poorly-written, rambling, public display of affection for the ladies I miss so much and leave it at this:  XO XO!