The Importance of Giggling

I probably won't have much of a voice tomorrow but after such a fabulous afternoon hanging out with girlfriends, who cares? A friend of mine had a get together at her house for girls only today - no husbands, boyfriends or kids allowed at this one. Sometimes you just gotta let your hair down and be silly and the best way to do that is with your girls!

So, we chomped down on cake, cookies, drank tea - the whole works. But nothing tea-party stuffy here - we know how to let 'er rip and get down and dirty on any range of discussion. Men. Dating. Sex. Food. Careers. Kids. Home projects. Exercise. Funny dreams we've had. Movies. Celebrity Gossip. Concerts. Even reminiscing about cheezy 90s music we used to love (New Kids on the Block or Color me Badd anyone?? Come on, admit it, you liked 'em too). Oh and don't forget Milli Vanilli...and hockey for those of us in this group who play and/or are huge fans. And at the fast pace we move that was just the tip of the iceberg.

One thing I've learned about myself over the past couple years is that my opinions and viewpoints are crystallizing. It's refreshing to be confident and secure in knowing what you like and don't like and can speak about it where it rings true through your whole being so there's no question to anyone on where you stand. And, people don't have to like it! But I also made a strong vow to myself early on in adulthood - probably around the time I graduated college - that I would ALWAYS be open minded to try new things no matter how old I got.

And I think I've done a pretty good job of living that out. Taking up hockey at the relatively late age of 36 and training to run 5Ks for the first time at 42? Never EVER would have thought I'd be doing either. Each of those parts of my life are SO important to me...and yet hang by the tiniest, fragile threads of coincidences which give me shivers. Shivers in wondering how different my life would be now if they had not happened.

I just "happened" to be working on a large corporate campus back in 2003 where moving from building to building was pretty much an annual occurrence. Our motto was "don't get comfortable!" And I just "happened" to be in a certain building and office and "happened" to have a new workgroup move in down the hall from me who had relocated here from out of state and were really into hockey. It was common for new groups - groups I didn't work with directly - to cycle in and out of this building, while my office stayed pretty constant.

Fast forward a couple years and I was unemployed and "happened" to apply online for a job at a well-known company where I didn't know a soul but the job looked wonderful. The next day I got an email from someone I used to work with years prior who just so "happened" to now work there and helped me get my foot in the door. And through that work experience I found a wonderful friend in P and several others, but P was the one who inspired me to try running.

I really, truly shiver. There are people so important in my life these days who I NEVER would have met had I not tried hockey or tried training to run 5Ks. What a blessing.

So today the "being open minded and trying new things" mindset took two very different turns within hours: a scrapbooking type of project and...Wii!! I am not sure what happened, but my arts & crafts gene has withered away. I have pictures from college still piled up in drawers in my home office which need to be put in albums badly...pictures over 20 years old! Really and truly, I have no patience for scrapbooking or pouring over paper/stamps/stickers/pinking shears or all the other "paper nerd" type of stuff out there. But at today's get together we got to spend time doing a relatively simple card project...and mine actually turned out pretty good I must say! Good coaching helps tons.

Fast forward a few hours and those of us still at the house decided to bust out the Wii and try bowling. I can't decide if I'm worse at real bowling or Wii bowling but I about died laughing the entire time. And when your hostess decides to pop a lasagne in the oven? OK, I'm in...we're not overstaying our welcome one bit, even on a Sunday night for those who are working.

Just like the night I took time to breathe and pray...taking time today to be silly and laugh was also a huge dose of soothing I didn't know I'd needed. But I feel jazzed, refreshed and energized for the week ahead.