Words Are Very Necessary...

The best part about my weekend away on Longboat Key with (left to right, not including me, the shrimpy, midgety one with the crimson, sunburned nose...) Nancy, Suse and Mary, was not the flawless weather (well ok, flawless is strong...so maybe it was a tad windy that first morning on the beach...but the rest: flawless...)...and it was not the lunches on the verandah, Gulf of Mexico right in front of us, our luscious midday chicken and avocado salad chased by a refreshing Corona Light (with lime, TL)...and it was not obtaining the tan lines that we are all sporting on our clavicles, the first brush of direct sun and heat since the summertime...and it was not the festive nature of our dinners out -- mojitos and 1905 salads at Columbia...the Hess Select cabernet and montrous desserts at Euphemia Haye...and just about every component of our beautiful, succulent, savory dinner at The Beach Bistro (even the Bacon Ice Cream was a pleasant surprise...)...and it was not those two kittenish yet demure spring/summer dresses I bought at Island Pursuit, or Mary's new Tory Burch sandals, a full 50% off and on her feet as she exited the store, or the copious amounts of olive oils and balsamic vinegars we had shipped after a long delicious tasting...and it wasn't watching the orange-y/purple-y sunsets over the Gulf...or even when the sweet but daft grocery bagger asked us repeatedly if we were on college Spring Break (a pre-cursor to my return flight seatmate who guessed my age as 26 after I grabbed her hand and squeezed hard through the non-stop, petrifying turbulence...!!!)...Those were all wonderful moments for sure...memorable moments...but...

What I really loved about being away with these girls was that we never ran out of things to say to one another...on the beach, late night, at breakfast, at dinner, over wine...listening to one another...learning all about one another... You know, even though we are good friends, we still had much to say...telling the others how we met our husbands and our lifelong best friends or who we were in high school and college or our favorite food/song/drink/color/band/actor/writer...what we might have named our children had they been the opposite sex...what our prom dress looked like...how high our bangs were in the '80's (mine: not very...though I did love Zinc Pink lipstick and pegged jeans...)...what our hopes were for our children's future...where we saw ourselves a few years beyond this moment... Girl talk, I guess...fueled by sun and salt air and champagne....though I would bet that some of you guys would have been right there with us in our pjs as the clock ticked well past midnight, chattering away with abandon....you can admit it, we will still respect and adore your masculinity. So I suppose this should not be some revelation as I wax poetic upon spending time with and enjoying my friends at every turn...but the weekend sailed by...in a good way. I didn't even crack that copy of "The Six Wives of Henry, VIII"...

But even with all of that...the much needed and enjoyed respite by the sea...even so, I am happy to be home...being with my kids and seeing family and my other dear girlfriends...getting back to the celebrations at home....Easter Sunday of course, the clothes and the candy and the egg hunts and Country Club dinners. But you know me...I am looking to (this week!) Holy Thursday first...the annual celebration of dive barring and festivity in the name of Jesus and Biblical betrayal at Nancy Whiskey Pub...yay! With appearances by Sam and Cath, Stacey and KRose, RJP and his Mad Men posse...and the rest (aka the Professor and Mary Anne...)....much fun and frolic in store.

And lots more that's left to say, I bet...Can't wait!

xoxo, Suz