Girls’ Weekend Part 1: Shopping, Food, and Friendship

AC is one of my closest friends and an incredible woman. We always have fun, laugh a lot, have similar interests, and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. And, as every good relationship is built on a solid foundation, so too is this one. For us, it is food. We love to talk about food, browse through cookbooks, create dishes, and, of course, eat.

I could spend an entire blog post praising AC as she has always been a great friend and became a lifeline for me during my separation. One of countless examples I could share: when AC called to talk on a particularly bad day, I sobbed to her about a problem. It really wasn’t anything tragic and I am sure she was wondering why I was so upset. AC listened quietly and then, unexpectedly, showed up at my door later that day with the best coconut cupcakes, a bottle of wine, and an encouraging note. Need I say more?

AC can also tolerate traveling with me, which makes her a saint (or maybe her sanity should be in question) too. Last weekend we had an overnight in Annapolis to run in the Zooma Half Marathon race. The trip started out with me consuming three caffeinated beverages by 1 PM, which meant my brain and mouth would be in overdrive. The last time I did this to AC was our trip to San Francisco. At the beginning of that adventure I consumed large quantities of caffeine and then boarded the plane with her. So, with three caffeinated drinks in me when we started our road trip, I asked AC if she would like an update on my life. What could she do? Her only two options were to say yes or jump out of the car while traveling at 65 MPH. Did I mention she is a saint? Or crazy?

Once I came down from the caffeine, we had a wonderful time. With nothing planned, we spent the afternoon walking through the city catching up, shopping, eating, and taking in our surroundings.

Three o’clock was too early for dinner, but not too early for us to start discussing dinner. We left the hotel with the plan to take a long walk and alternate between shopping and scoping out a restaurant for the evening. For us, shopping is more about catching up with each other and commenting on merchandise as we browse through stores than ending the shopping experience clutching enormous quantities of shopping bags. As is typical with us, we gravitated towards books and ended the shopping portion of the afternoon sitting on an overstuffed, soft sofa with a stack of books between us.

We both enjoyed the comfort of the sofa, but hunger took over our interest in reading. That evening we enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner while discussing our summer plans. This year planning summer activities and trips is difficult with the amount of time that will be devoted to finalizing my divorce. It will require a lot of my time, but also be emotionally draining. So our discussion about a trip together with our kids, activities near us, plans for picnic dinners at the pool and more were all tentative ideas; everything must be worked around the divorce.

At one point during dinner AC said to me, “Kelly, we just need to get you through the divorce this summer.” “We” was so comforting to hear. Not that I was worried she would abandon me at this difficult time. The comfort came from knowing that while I have to carry this heavy load on my own, that does not mean I will walk alone. AC will be here with me every step of the way.

CLICK HERE to read Girls’ Weekend Part 2