Just Laugh it Off.
Do you ever have those days, or events, when one rediculous thing happens after another? Last night was one of those times for me. As you know, if you’ve been reading the last few posts, I’ve had sick kids for going on two week now. My friend Kristen has been in the same boat, except her babies are newborn, one, and two! Wednesdays are usually my favorite weekday. Kristen, her sister Erin, and their four babies come to my house for lunch and a play date. It is so much fun. We take turns cooking, the kids play, and some weeks, it is the only adult conversation we’ve had ALL week! Due to Thanksgiving, sick kids, and being out of town, we haven’t had our Wednesday lunch in three weeks. I miss my girlfriends! So I called Kristen on Wednesday to make sure she was still alive and we both laughed about our weeks and how little adult conversation we’d had over the last two or three weeks. At that moment, we decided to meet for coffee (and laughs) Thursday night at 8pm.
I was rushing around my house to finish up dessert with the kids (we were decorating Christmas cookies) and trying to get out the door by 7:50. That did not happen. I left my house at 8:01pm to pick up Kristen. It had been pouring rain for 48 hours by now. There were flooded areas everywhere. Did I mention this was the first day since Sunday that I had actually dried my hair and put makeup on? On my way to her house, I spritzed a squirt of body spray in my car because I’m always paranoid that my car smells like dirty little boys and diapers. Well the smell was overwhelming at first, so without even thinking, I cracked both front windows to let in some fresh air. As the rain began to pour in, I immediately rolled them back up…except, the passenger window wouldn’t budge! Rain continued to pour in that window as I drove down the road trying not to plow into the car in front of me. I called Kristen, let her know what happened, and suggested she bring a trash bag that we could drape over that door so she wouldn’t get wet. Boy, did I feel stupid!
We arrived at Starbucks around 8:20pm. We ran through the rain soaked parking lot with my giant polka dotted umbrella and Kristens flip-flops sloshing through the puddles that seemed more like small bodies of water at this point. It was as if all eyes were on us as we entered the very crowded, very small Starbucks. We were laughing by the time we hit the door because my umbrella was not wanting to fold up and I was getting caught up in the door as rain poured down on us. We ordered our little cups of rest and relaxation and took the only two seats left in the building. We talked and laughed histerically for what seemed like only a few minutes, when in reality, we were there for an hour and a half. At one point, there was a sweet young couple, obviously dating, and they were exchanging gifts at the tabel beside us. Apparently they were wanting a sweet romantic moment and we were entirely too loud for that, so they got up and moved to a quiet corner table, away from the loud mouths (that would be US). We were actually laughing so hard at one point, Kristen, who is still breastfeeding her youngest baby, feared she was about to leak all over her shirt. That, of course, made us laugh even harder as we joked about running outside in the rain so the rest of her shirt would get wet too and no one would know exactly where the “leak” had sprung from. Finally, as the clock approached 10pm, for fear of turning into pumpkins, we packed up and ran back out to the car. As we jumped in and slammed the doors behind us, my van windows fogged up almost instantly. I couldn’t see out my windshield even a little bit. It’s okay, I thought, we’ll just sit here for a minute while the windshield defrosts. Well, what I didn’t take into account, was whether or not my defrost would choose to work that night! You see, my van, at the old age of SIX, tends to have a mind of it’s own. The automatic doors don’t work when it’s cold or raining, the heating and air only works half the time, and wouldn’t you know, this was one of the times it most certainly did NOT work. We sat in the parking lot of Starbucks for almost an hour as my windows slowly cleared up enough to see through. I still, however, thank God that I have a van that gets me from point A to point B, fits all my children and a few friends, and most of all, that I can now fill my gas tank up for a mere $28!!!! Thank you Lord, I can handle no air and manual sliding doors!
Although the night was histerically comical, it was much needed and we both went home refreshed and rejuvenated to finish out our week with the best jobs in the world. Sometimes you just have to have those moments with someone who understands exactly what you’re going through. Someone to laugh with you when you really feel like crying, someone to tell you they experienced the same thing the day before and no, you’re not crazy or a bad mom. God gives us different friends in different seasons of our lives. Some friends fade into the distance during some seasons of life, and in the right moment, they return as if no time had passed at all. Girlfriends are definitely a gift from God. I thank God that he’s given me a handful of precious sisters in Christ. We are there to carry each other through the hard times and laugh our way through life’s ups and downs. Laughter is definitely key. You can’t take yourself or life too seriously, it just wouldn’t be any fun.
~audrey
P.S. Kristen let me borrow her copy of “Multiple Blessings” by Kate Gosselin. That is the family from TLC and the show Jon and Kate plus Eight, in case you didn’t know. I haven’t been able to put the book down. I’m already looking forward to Owen taking a nap this afternoon so I can cuddle up in my bed and read some more. Thanks girl! Love you!