The Upside of Chasing My Tail.

I like my solitude.  It’s a time to give freedom to my thoughts and daydreams and let them run wild.  But too much time, and I become a dog chasing my tail, dizzy and tired until I eventually flop down - useless to myself, much less anyone else.  So, color me lucky to have had a serious dose of reality time with my two best girls, Darcey and Ellen this past weekend.  They’re both avid dog lovers – maybe that’s why they’re able to rein me in so well!

Yes, we do a mean rendition of "Sisters" from White Christmas!

My sister Darcey came over Saturday evening.  Some homemade pizza, a salad, a couple of beers for her and a few glasses of wine for me and we were set!  We talked, we laughed, and we cried.  Then we laughed and cried some more until our sides hurt.  It’s always that way with us.  Picking up a thread from when we got together last, I finally talked her into buying a Kindle.  In return, she provided me with the elusive Z topic when I shared with her my plans (and fears) of participating in the A-Z blogging challenge in April.  We “mother-talked” about our kids, and “sister-talked” about our family.  We’re never at a loss for topics as we work our way through jobs, daily struggles, little successes and how much we miss our mom and dad.  Our time is like a soaking bath – indulgent and relaxing. Our dinners every six weeks or so aren’t just something that happen on their own.  It’s planned “sista-time”.

Daylight Savings brought me one hour quicker to Sunday morning and my breakfast date with Ellen.  Fortunate me, our husbands are Masons in the same lodge and I met Ellen at a lodge dinner many years ago.  We clicked like magnets.  There is nothing we can’t or don’t talk about.  We schedule our breakfast dates, sometimes weeks in advance – for a weekend morning at 8 am.  We have our favorite local diners and settle in for that morning’s special of an omelet, buttermilk pancakes, LA French toast or eggs benedict.  A couple cups of tea and we’re set for a good hour or more.  Luckily our server usually recognizes us and knows we’re there for the long haul.  We catch up on kids, husbands, work, and family.  Often we share the same topics that Darcey and I do, but the details are a world apart with different perspectives, life experiences and personalities.  For me, it’s another time to slow down and connect outside myself.   

So why is this time so special to me? Because even though I’m writing here in the public blogging world, I’m a mix of a loner and an introvert (a blog for another day).  I enjoy my alone time whether I’m writing, puttering around the house or yard, baking, taking a walk, reading or choosing some other solitary activity.  By choice, the community surrounding me is quite small.  If forced to define it, I’d say it’s my husband Steven, my son Abram, and of course, Darcey and Ellen.  Yes, I’m blessed to have more family and friends in my life and they are very important to me; they’re just not the core that I steadfastly rely on to keep me from chasing my solitary tail.  

The dates aren’t always easy to set.  Darcey and Ellen know I offer times when Steve is working.  Our schedules fluctuate and I value my time with him like gold.  The cool thing is that they respect how much I value my time with him as well as my time alone.  So they also know that I deliberately SEEK them out to spend time with them. Just for the sheer joy of being in their company.  Seeing them both in one weekend … Now THAT’s something worth chasing my tail over!