Unwinding the Mind!

Yesterday -okay, make that Sunday since technically as I write this now it is Tuesday morning -was a rather stressful day for me. Some issues to get addressed about some things pertaining to our women's group at church which I won't delve into here as it really would be a TMI (too much information -way too much!) thing to do.

Just suffice it to say I was upset, concerned, and yes, majorly stressed out!

Monday morning, although I had taken care of some of those stress-filled issues on Sunday, the root causes were still in the back of my mind, flitting around, and annoying me.

And I found myself wishing I had someone to sit and talk to about the questions, the problems -someone who would be able to understand my position, share my logic and also, wherever/whenever possible, would also understand how when faced with things like this, I deal much better when I can talk about things openly and also, sarcastically, and poke fun wherever/whenever possible then too.

I thought about this much of Monday and wondered how the heck did I manage to cope with lots of issues in the past -who did I lean on then that was a good trusted friend with a sense of humor much like mine who would have been there for me then?

And I kept coming up blank!

Then in mid-afternoon, I was checking my e-mail and there was a message for me from an old friend who moved away from here 32 years ago this coming June -moved to Florida, she did -and it hit me then. That's who I used to sit and talk with and joke with and sometimes we did out conversations over lots and lots of coffee but often, we would break out a bottle of rum, some pineapple juice, vanilla ice cream, dry pina colada mix and a blender and we would make our own really yummy home made pina coladas and get more than a little "juiced up" too then, often in the middle of the afternoon.

And always, when we would be solving our (usually my) problems, we also would solve the problems of the world too  - at least then in our minds!

Anyway, she had sent me a picture along with the following message:

National Girlfriend and Sister's Week
I am only as strong as the coffee I drink, the hairspray I use, and the friends I have.
To the cool women who have touched my life. Here's to you! 

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR GIRLFRIENDS AND RETURN IT TO THE FRIEND WHO SENT IT TO YOU

It is good to be a woman:

1.. We got off the Titanic first.


2. We can scare male bosses with mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.


3. Taxis stop for us.


4. We don 't look like a frog in a blender when dancing.


5. No fashion faux pas we make could ever rival the Speedo.


6.. We don 't have to pass gas to amuse ourselves.


7. If we forget to shave, no one has to know.

8. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her rear end.


9. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there.


10. We have the ability to dress ourselves.


11. We can talk to the opposite sex without having to picture them naked.


12. If we marry someone 20 years younger, we are aware that we will look like an idiot.

13. We will never regret piercing our ears.


14. There are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems.

15. We can make comments about how silly men are in their presence because they aren't listening anyway.

And, along with that message was this picture too! Above the photo, my friend had written "I don't want to brag or make anyone jealous or anything, but I can still fit into the earrings I wore in high school." I saw that and immediately broke up laughing -long, hard and completely! How like her to find something like this and send it to me -and just exactly what I needed then too! I picked up the phone later Monday afternoon and called her, still laughing over that silly e-mail, but I also told her how I had been trying to think of how I used to get things that really had me worked up, totally stressed out, removed or at least, put under control in my system and as soon as I had seen this from her, I remembered exactly how we used to talk and carry on -and yes, drink too -and come away much relieved! And I reminded her in this conversation that I still haven't completely forgiven her and her husband for leaving the north with the snow, sleet, freezing rains and such, to go to Florida just because it was warmer there! (No, that wasn't the only reason they moved -her husband's job did have a lot to do with that, but anyway, that's beside the point, isn't it?) We talked for close to 2 hours and I told her what had been on my mind, stressing me out, and we made one joke after the other about the entire situation after which we then got into discussing lots of other things too that we could make fun of as well so by the time we ended that phone call, my mind was free of the thoughts of the problems anyway! No, the problems haven't gone away -they just became much more manageable for me though simply because I picked up the phone, called my friend and transported myself back in time to those days long ago when we would handle almost any problem or obstacle in our way by finding the stupid sides to the issues and then, making fun of them! Trust me when I tell you this -handling problems in this manner really does work like a charm, and is so much fun too.  Well except for the occasional hangover anyway!