Shiny Happy People

Yesterday was such a great day with lots of smiles and lots of happy people that I spent time with. The sun was shining and I felt like just skipping around with a huge smile on my face.

In my ever changing moods, yesterday, I was finally feeling back to normal! It was an awesome hair day, I had a cute outfit on and I was wearing a smile that said, I'm a winner! (Over inflated ego, anyone?)

The day started with errands and as I was driving, I noticed that my bangs could use a quick trim so at my first stop, I quickly called my hair salon to see if my girl could squeeze me in while the cheerleader was there getting her hair done. They didn't think so and that was okay. It was last minute. But, when I went in to pay for the cheerleader's hair, my girl told me to come on over....so sweet!! We chatted, she shaped up my bangs, she didn't even charge me and I was skipping to my next stop.

I had to stop at our local grocery to grab a few items. As soon as I walked down the first aisle, I spot an old friend from elementary school days. We had our girls at the same little private school and she and I spent many a night at the dance studio sipping coffee. Our girls became friends in first grade and now they are seniors in high school!! They both cheer, they both do livestock for 4H, but yet, my pal, Ja, and I never seem to have the time to visit, anymore. When our private school shut down, our kids went off to different public schools and now that our kids drive, we are no longer at the dance studio, together. We talked and laughed until we cried at the grocery. Then, another friend from the elementary school came into the store. It was like reunion week!! We all chatted, blocked the aisle, got a lot of stares, laughed and then I noticed that I was going to be late for my coffee date. I bid a fond farewell, we made promises to lunch, together, soon, and I was on my way.

Next stop...local coffee house. Always, always excellent service. My bff, Ji, was already waiting. Surprise...I was late from yammering on in the grocery. I grabbed a coffee and settled in on one of the sofas for a nice long chat. Ji and I met when I moved to Maggie's Farm, 10 years ago. When we get together, we never stop talking. An hour and a half whizzed by and I was amazed. It felt like only 15 minutes. We each have an only child. We each have a girl only. Her daughter is a year older than the cheerleader. Ji is like my big sister that I get to follow around and take notes for each coming year. Right now, I am frantically taking college notes as she is getting ready to send her only off to college in a matter of weeks. Our daughters are very similar in personality so we are able to laugh at their nonsense, beam with pride, share in their misery, and applaud their accomplishments. It was a great visit!

I raced from the coffee house because I had to go pick J up from work. Somehow, we were in a car shuffle and it was going to be easier for me to pick him up instead of trying to figure out how to not have too many cars where he was. Anyway, he offered to take me out for drinks and dinner! On a Thursday! Up until now, our lives have been busy with shuttling the cheerleader around, etc. But, now that she is mobile, well, we don't see her much or when we do see her, it's with her group of friends. We have quit trying to plan nightly family dinners. It's just the two of us and we took advantage of the freedom that we are beginning to realize. We went to a sports pub in the town where J has a business. We listened to great music, enjoyed a drink and had dinner. When we got home, my day just felt like it had been smiling, all day, on me.

I waited up for the cheerleader to get home by curfew and when she was safely home, I fell into a deep and content sleep....it was a great day made better by spending the time with special people...