Thoughts From The Tree

Guess what can make a sad girl feel better?

Starting out a Saturday with a dear friend and this.  That's right.  There are four soft, chewy carbohydrates here, and there are only two of us to eat them:

And then going to an orange grove with her friend and her puppy:

Her puppy - who happens to be looking up because that's where the sad girl - who doesn't feel so sad at that point - is, because she climbed up into a tree and picked some oranges.  It's harder to feel sad when you pick oranges in a tree.

In fact, you tend to feel victorious:

And, then, coming home to this package, sent to you by your sister, who has seen you when you were crying and snotty, who remembers that time you physically body-slammed her because you believed she had stolen your kaleidoscope, who knows your weaknesses because they've hurt her in the past, and yet, who still loves you fiercely, and sees the best in you, and sends you packages to remind you of that.  AND!! now ... now, her two daughters - your nieces - made you homemade Valentines.  And in one of them, your niece actually wrote the words, "You are a heart shining bright like no other!  Your heart is shining!"  And this niece has a bright, shining heart, herself.  And she's still young enough that she doesn't have that obligation-bound way of complimenting people.  She still only says what she means, so her words mean that much more.  And, actually, they make you cry:

Yep, that can all make a sad girl feel better.  Maybe a part of growing up means learning how to keep your eyes open to all the good that awaits you, even when they're full of tears.

It Takes A Village

And then, when life just seems kind of monotonous and lonely and dark, and I feel too-tired, light breaks through.  And I find myself looking around at this group of women I've been meeting with - every week - for 3 years.  We've sat side by side together through weddings and cancer and loss and breakups and heart attacks and career changes and depression and falling in love and moving and graduating, and job searching, and job finding, and, and, and....

And now, we are reminiscing.  And trying on purses.  And laughing...about the simplest things.  About life's small moments, stories that only we know.  We're just sitting in her living room and eating peanut butter M&Ms and pizza....

...but, the crinkle of their eyes and the pure joy of moments re-lived, and the way we can say just about anything, and so many years of memories stacked underneath us, the roots of a tree... well, tonight, just laughing with these women makes it seem like everything might be alright.

I didn't forget to keep laughing, after all.