Thursday, August 19, 2010

"...best night of my life."



Grab a cauldron and toss in:

+ Eight women who met in college nearly thirteen years ago

+ NYC and a three-bedroom apartment in the Upper West Side to stay in for free.

+ A weekend away from kids, family, husbands, jobs, boyfriends, workout routines and any other obligations

+ Curled hair and a dab of lipstick

+ A fabulous shared dinner at the Stanton Social in the Lower East Side

+ Gimlets and cocktails of the like

+ Conversations about what we want to accomplish in the next year

+ College card games at a teeny bar in the Village where a guy named Helvis bought eight shots plus one for himself

+ NYU boys with strange glasses looking to impress "older" women

+ A crazy DJ who also buys shots for eight women

+ Hours and hours of dancing and laughing and free-flowing Happy being tossed around like a football


Once you've added all of the above ingredients, lightly blend together, but be careful. Such a list is likely to incite craziness and will eventually produce Haley proclaiming with uncontained JOY, "This is the best night of my life!"











When some of the college gals started tossing around the idea of going to New York City for a girls' weekend, I thought it sounded like a great idea. Who wouldn't agree that such an idea is great? I simply didn't think it was a viable option. A dream is what I thought it was. Without sounding negative, I guess I just assumed that though it was a splendid notion, life is a little nutty right now with young kids, new jobs, layoffs and bi-coastal living all happening at once.

But when one person booked, more followed and pretty soon every single person was on a 7am flight out of Minneapolis for the weekend.

Saying its rare to have all eight of us together is beyond an understatement. And to have us all together in a place far from distraction can only be described as the first time ever since college graduation. Friday night was designated the evening to go out and hit the town. As described by the above cauldron, it was clearly a recipe for success. At one point someone made a rule not to talk about kids. I think this simple rule subconsciously transferred over and onto all things having to do with the daily rituals of life. Instead of talking about our jobs or our partners we started describing the things we all would like to do in our lives before the next girls' weekend. It was so special and so important.

Saturday we milled about the city. Grabbed lunch at a wonderful vegan cafe. Checked out the new Highline Park. Rested our feet just in time for some happy hour sangria. And pretty soon we were curled up in the apt. in our sweatpants ordering take-out and setting up the outdoor terrace for a cozy dinner in. Again the conversation turned to the things that we never seem to talk about when discussing What's Happening This Week over email. Each taking a turn, we went around the group and learned each person's High and Low over the past year. I must admit, when this little exercise was announced I thought to myself, Are We In Therapy? But again, more than the subtleties of life, such topics were more poignant and real than I think we've shared in years and years.

I am certain we all agree the weekend was a total success. It was a perfect potion of crazy and fun and laughter, but also remarkably connecting and soulful. As I made my way to the airport a flurry of texts was constant. Each of us felt compelled to write and express our gratitude for the weekend and for each other. Its Thursday now and I am still seeing reflective sentiments over email and text from all of us as we think back on what will forever be an EPIC weekend.

Cheers to you seven. Amazing women and friends.
I love you gals. I appreciate you all in my life!

1 comment:

hales02 said...

Wow. I got goosebumps reliving such a relevant and defining weekend. (sidenote: You are such an amazing writer, Fran.) I am so LUCKY to have you. Thanks for sharing my JOY.