Spring Break, Ya’ll

Did you know that 20 people could co-exist in one house for an entire week, 99% peacefully?  Yeah, my hopes weren’t very high, either.  But we did.  It was a week of making memories in a beautiful house in a beautiful location with beautiful folks.  Old friends, new friends, some related by blood or marriage, some just framily.  And it left me overflowing with gratitude. 

First, I am thankful-ish that our two goldfish survived yet another thoughtless week-long abandonment.  Yes, Logan and Gracie are still with us.  Bless. 

Next, I am super grateful that I chose a room on the top floor of our gorgeous accommodations, so even though I mostly sat my butt next to our private pool for a week straight, I still got my steps in.  (Only because my scattered “mom brain” forced me to trek up to my room at least 16 times daily for forgotten sunglasses, towels, etc.)  Another plus for that third-floor room is that my friends on the lower floors reported that the rest of us sounded like a herd of elephants overhead every morning while they were trying to sleep it off.  Sorry, guys. 

I am thankful that the weather cooperated with us. We were all a tad worried about the forecast, but we enjoyed a gracious sun, and 70 degrees somehow managed to feel more like 80 all week.  This is probably because our bodies had grown used to negative 12 over the ridiculous Wisconsin winter. Whatever.  I’ll take it. 

I am so grateful for my friends.  Specifically, my friends’ hands. You know, those hands that brush your daughter’s hair or make sandwiches for your kids or bring you a(nother) beer or help you hang streamers for your daughter’s birthday after she goes to bed or beat you at cribbage or, last but certainly not least, make freaking delicious guacamole.

I am also grateful for my friends’ hearts.  Those hearts that allowed everyone to get along in close quarters (Okay, to be honest, our quarters really weren’t that tight.  But still.).  No judgment, no snark, no drama, only the friendliest of peer pressure centering mostly around blender drinks.  This laissez-faire atmosphere allowed me to fight through the anxiety I felt all week and enjoy the vacation.  Huh?  Anxiety?  Yep, and I don’t even know where it came from.  I mean, I once backpacked Europe without a backpack, and I drove around the entire continental U.S. with a road atlas and a 9-pound “guard dog.”  You would think I could handle a cushy trip to Florida for spring break.  And I can.  But, dang, there were moments.  Chest-crushing moments. I don’t know if it’s being a mom, or just getting older, or maybe something else. In any event, I am thankful for the folks who helped me push past it last week, even if they didn’t know it. 

I am particularly thankful for God-winks.  Those whispers from above that come in various forms, but all lead you in a particular direction.  Usually just the direction you need to head.  This week, as I sat by the pool, a song came on that is so entwined in my head with my old friend Bernie that I had to call her right that second.  I hadn’t seen her in over year, but I was literally compelled to climb up to the third floor yet again (sigh) the instant the song ended to retrieve my phone. Now, I don’t call Bernie very often, even though I love her dearly.  In fact, it turned out, her number hadn’t transferred in my contacts when I got a new phone a few months ago, and I hadn’t even noticed.  No problem.  I just pulled those digits right out of the very thin air in my aforementioned mom brain and called her up, even though I probably hadn’t dialed her number from memory since college.  I was slightly deflated to get her voicemail, but I left her a message.  Imagine my surprise when scrolling Facebook the next morning to learn she had delivered her healthy and gorgeous baby girl roughly 12 hours after my call, almost 2 weeks early. Not that I knew her due date when I called her.  I just knew I had to call her.  Just wow. 

Sometimes God, or the universe, or whoever, gives you just what you need.  Leads you where you need to go.  Sometimes things just work out beautifully.  The sun shines and the drinks flow and the kids only punch each other a couple of times.  And sometimes things don’t turn out quite so perfectly.  Or so we think.  But maybe even the wrong turns and obstacles are there to shape you or make you appreciate the good things even more. 

The world lost an amazing person while we were on vacation.  Our friend lost his sweet, beautiful mother after her long battle with cancer.  But I shouldn’t say lost.  Even though she wasn’t there with us, she was.  She still is.  And she will continue to be with everyone who loved her, a gentle reminder to choose the right path and soak up the sunshine.