Get Out of My Fac...I Mean I Need Some Privacy

Last night I spent time with some wonderful old friends as we celebrated our 40th birthdays together.  Many of these women I have known since grade school; that's a long time.  We may not see each other all the time; but we will always be friends; until we die.  It's the kind of friendships that have stood the test of time, and if you're in a tight, you could call one of them and they would help you, no questions asked.  We have laughed and shared many wonderful times, and cried with each other when the time called for it.

Last night we talked non-stop for hours. You name it & I think we talked about it:  things that happened in high school, college, husbands, children, how our bodies are starting to fall apart.  What we realized is that we are all in the same boat...it's nice to know you don't have to do life alone.

Celebrating 40 together.
front row:  Shelley, Cindy, Dana, Merryl, Lisa, Ashley
back row:  Shannon, Amy, Natalie, Toni, Ginger, Laura, Ashley,
Allsion, Donna, Jennifer, Kathryn, Sharon, Melanie

Here are some of the highlights from last night, some are funny and some are serious.  The names have been changed to protect the guilty...I mean innocent:

• My older child is the voice of reason, but the 3 year old is the devil.  The other day she came up to me and said "Get out of my face!".  Well, I'm not tolerating that kind of disrespect, so she had an appointment with 'Mr. Sad Spoon'.  I told her:  "Madeline, you don't tell an adult to get out of your face, you say:  I need some privacy".  Well last night she started to say "'get out of my fac...' and stopped and said 'I mean I need some privacy'".  At least she's learning.
• Lana's 89 year old Gran has a best friend who is 93 and has stage 4 cancer.  They decided a road trip was in order to Jackson, Mississippi.  On the way down there Gran is flying and gets a ticket for doing 90!  We wondered why she didn't talk her way out of it.
• The tag line for the anti-bullying campaign going on in the local schools is to not be a bystander.  We all decided we wanted our children to not be bystanders when bullying is happening around them.
• Our junior beach trip.  Paige was supposed to ask her mom if we could go back out after our curfew.  Well her mom was asleep & so she said her mom said we could go back out & that everything was good.  When Mrs. Walker woke up & we weren't there; she immediately got in her gray Oldsmobile and drove around to try to find us.  When she came across the security guard she gave our full names and what we looked like so if he ran across us he could tell us to come back to the condo.  Needless to say...Mrs. Walker was not happy & we were in major trouble.  She still holds that over Paige's head to this day.
• We decided that we agree with the man who shot his daughter's laptop.  Here's why:  1.  He bought the laptop, so it really belongs to him, and if he wants to shoot it, then who are we to tell him he can't.  2.  He warned his daughter that if she posted something inappropriate on Face Book again he was going to shoot her laptop.  It was not an empty threat...he followed through with what he said.  3.  He did not threaten his daughter with physical punishment or brandish the gun in front of her; he did it in a safe way so no one was in jeopardy of getting hurt.  4. We wish more parents would be willing to do to what ever it takes to get their children in line.
• We talked about how to get picky eaters to eat; children going through puberty; trash liners; getting our bladders tacked; and jumping on trampolines.  Not necessarily in that order...
• Loving your spouse is not something that is a fleeting feeling.  Marriage and loving your spouse is something you work at and choose to do everyday.  They may do something that frustrates you, and even though you may not like them at the moment, you will always love them.
• Getting a friend to hold your ears very tightly while you drink water will help cure hiccups.
• Putting something with aluminium in the microwave will set-off the fire alarms, and they will continue to flash & beep for hours...
• The Governor's Suite at Ross Bridge should have at least 20 wine glasses ready for someone to use, and if they don't you can call Megan & she'll let the people at the front desk know that some need to be brought up immediately.  She'll even get them to put them all away.
• We realized that we are blessed beyond belief because we have each other. 

Celebrating Life with wonderful friends!
~ashley