Re-Connection

When I retired three years ago, I made promises to myself.  I would work out every day..cardio and strength training...fight those flabby arms!!  I would write, even if it was just stream of consciousness stuff...which is pretty much what blogging is all about.

I would become a Life Master in bridge.  Little did I know that it would determine my travel itinerary as I flit from state to state playing in tournaments.  I also never would have guessed that the game would bring me a best friend and life partner, who just happens to be a great bridge player.

Check off the promises about traveling and finding someone to share my life with.  Forget about eHarmony and Match.com and SeniorMeetPeople.  Just take bridge lessons and start playing in clubs....and be patient.  There are a lot of nerds out there but I’ve always been partial to nerds anyway.

I would go on a spiritual journey.  What did I really believe anyway?  Why are we so disconnected?  Why are there so many competing groups even within the same faith?  Why does man go to war over religious differences?  How is that spiritual?  You get the point.  There’s a lot to sort out there and, God knows, I don’t have the answers.  But, I wanted to find faith.

I also made a promise to reconnect.  Once I got married and had children and worked full-time, my life was a whirlwind.  There was just no time for staying in touch with old friends.  What’s ‘down time’?  Even on the weekends, there were soccer and basketball games, grocery shopping, laundry, yard work, house cleaning.  Basically, every night I dragged myself to bed too exhausted to even make a phone call.

And, finally, I had put in enough years that I could retire and call my time my own.  Is there anything more precious than time?  Maybe, health.  Can’t argue with that.  

I wanted to get back in touch with my high school girlfriends after rarely, if ever, seeing them for over 40 years.  In fact, the first time we got together to celebrate our 40th high school reunion was at a beach in Charleston, South Carolina.  There were eight of us.  Uproarious....fabulous food, lots of wine, a yoga lesson, shopping trips.  And, stories.  Lots of stories.  Imagine eight women telling their life stories in four days.  The best line from that trip:  “We can all get together next year and tell the same stories and nobody will remember.”

And, so we have.  Every other summer, we pick a beach.  Yes, we have to pick a beach because we’re all from Florida!  We’ve gone to the Gulf Coast of Florida twice and St. Simons in Georgia.  We catch up on children and grandchildren and husbands and lovers.  We play cards, walk the beach, drink our red wine and eat dark chocolate.  We do not talk politics and religion as we are as divided as the country is.

The highlight of last summer was going to St. Armand’s Circle in Sarasota and shopping at Terra Nova.  We all fell in love with the same dress and each of us bought one in a different color!   We added hats and shoes...OMG!  It was sinful.  We went back at least three times.  Did they love us!

Then, there are my friends I started teaching with 25 years ago and began a tradition on our 50th birthdays by going to HIlton Head Island for a week.  We’ve gone back for our 55th, our 60th and this past summer our 65th!  Can you say 70??!!  More beach, more wine, food, dark chocolate, and laughter.  Sounds a bit hedonistic but...oh well, let’s just enjoy it as long as we can!

And, now, I’m heading up to New England next week to pick up my friend, Annie, in Boston and take her on a road trip to meet up with two friends that she hasn’t seen in almost 20 years.  Then, on to see her daughters in Vermont and Massachusetts that I haven’t seen in way too long.

Yep...probably more wine and dark chocolate...lot of stories and laughter.  Does it get any better than this??