Thank God for Girlfriends

I will say it again. Thank God for girlfriends.

Here's how it all started.........I stopped by the gym after a challenging day at work to take it all out on the treadmill.....which I did. I did my warm up, then ran so hard I could barely see afterwards. But it felt wonderful. I gathered my things and made my way out to my car. As I was walking, I realized I was favoring one of my legs because my calf and tendon were so sore. And then it came in a huge rush...... you know when you have a sudden memory, that only takes just a split second to remember and you can feel whatever it was that you were feeling back in that moment?

I suffered from awful charlie horses in my calves during swim meets and my mom used to massage my calves and Achilles tendons in between heats to help make 'em go away. She did this for years. I instantly started crying and felt so sad........ she was my biggest fan. Always there to cheer me on, even if I was 4 lenghts behind, she would cheer for me like I was going to win. At the time I thought it was embarressing - now I feel grateful and I would give anything to have my mom standing next to the treadmill with a stop watch and a wistle, wearing her classic spandex bike shorts and cute little Polo top that showed off her trim figure, loudly encouraging me to keep going and push myself a little further.

I cried all the way home and when I got into my parking lot, I had to talk to someone. I called Shannon and within 10 secs, she invited me over to talk. When I got there, she had the candles lit on the mantle and a pot of hot water boiling for hot chocolate. I sank into her ultra-comfy, creamy leather couch and just let it all out. And she just listened......nodding her head and handing me tissue. I gushed and gushed about it all and when I was done, I felt so relieved. We spent the rest of the evening gabbing about this and that, sharing what's going on in our lives..... true girl talk. Oh, and then we had a good laugh watching people makes absolute fools of themselves trying out for American Idol while eating ice cream bars.

Thank goodness for strong, sensitive, compassionate women like Shannon........ she knew exactly what I needed. Candles, hot chocolate, a couch to sink into, a box of tissues and her undivided attention.