This week was long, trying and exhausting. It felt heavy and cumbersome at times. The vast majority of that was caused by work pressures, unkind co-workers and personal agendas. Although there is an end in sight with some upcoming changes, those changes have not set in yet. Something in my mind is still caught on the discomfort, the inequity and the frustration of the situation.
Through those times I remind myself to breathe, to meditate - quiet my mind, and to pray. Those all help. What also helps is the power of friendship. Last week I had wonderful phone calls with both Jody and Monica, and a series of texts with Erica. Oh, the beauty of girl talk!
Fast forward to Saturday morning. I had a hard time shaking sleep from my brain. A bit foggy and sluggish. Our 9:30am soccer game was in Plano, so with drive time and warm-ups we left the house at 8:20am. When we arrived we saw Coach Cheryl, her daughter and another team mate headed to a warm-up area to kick the ball around. Bill and I hadn't anticipated how chilly it was - windy and cloudy so we hung back in the car.
As we sat there in silence I recognized my crankiness. Unsure exactly what was causing it, and more so how to resolve it! The field in Plano is at a park that hosts a variety of sports - baseball, basketball as well as the soccer fields. There is also a walking path that curves around the entire place. While I sat in the car wondering about the crankiness I saw a group of three woman walking the path. They seemed to be about my age, likely with kids somewhere in the complex at a game. They were chatting and I could see from their faces they were happy.
In an instant I realized that what they had was not about calories being burned. It was good for their soul. The connection of friendship. That left me longing for friends like that - CLOSE BY! I made peace with it and we made our move to her game.
Although this time it was different. Instead of plopping down in my chair next to Bill I chose to stand with two moms I talk to in passing most weeks. I love their girls, for their kindness and teamwork. Know their other children by site as well, and husbands who often are en route to take another child to a different game.
Today I stood with Katie's mom and Leah and Miriam's mom. We drank coffee from our travel mugs, talked about our kids - all of which celebrated their 11th birthdays within a week of one another, our inability to exercise as much as we'd like, the stiffness in our backs, the family vacations we're planning for the summer and the best part was the consensus of needing alone time. They each spoke kindly of their husbands, and although content in their lives - they were tired too! By the end of the game - and our time together - I said to them, "you have no idea how very much I needed this today ... I've been missing close by girlfriends and this conversation filled my soul!" We hugged and wished each other a great rest of the day.
Sometimes God answers our prayers without us even putting them into words. Thank goodness for the spirit of women, motherhood and coffee talk with girlfriends!
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