FRIENDS – WE ALL HAVE THEM, GOOD AND BAD

You might  be  under  the  impression  that  I  have  no  friends  or  maybe  even  just  one  because  I  seem  to  do things by myself . 

That’s  not true, it just  seems  like  it . 

I  actually  have  friends ,  eight  close  girlfriends  whom  I  call  my ”  Circle  of  Sisters  ” . 

They  aren’t  only  my  sounding  board  on  work problems ,  (  theirs  since  I’m  retired . ) , family  issues ,  (  because  they  know  that  I’m  nosey  as  hell  and  just  need  to  know  what’s  going  on . ), husbands  or boyfriends ,  (  lack  of  either  or the conversation  usually  begins  with    ‘do you  know  what  that  idiot  did  now ?  !  ), and one of  our  favorite  topics ,  health  issues ,  (  because  we’re  all  getting  older and we all  have  them.)

We’re  women  of  different  ages, religions ,  and  ethnicities ,  but we share one  very  big  thing  in common . 

This  is  a  30  Plus  Teams  Tour  so of  course  my friends  have  done  many  of  them  and they  all like sports . 

In some cases  not all four of  them ,  but you get the idea . 

We did 30  Plus  Teams  Tours  when  it wasn’t  even  called  that . 

We didn’t  even think about  a 30 Plus  Teams  Tour  back then.

All one of my  girls  had to say were  the  magic  words ,  ”  Road  Trip  ” . 

You  just  knew  what  that  meant  no matter  what  the  sport  was.

Even  back  then  vacations  were planned  around  some  team’s  schedule . 

It still  is . 

I  actually  made  a  day  trip  from my  home  in  Boston  to meet  one  of  my  friends  in  New Jersey  for an afternoon  hockey  game.

I went  back  to  Boston  after  the  game  was  over  because  I  had  to  work  the  next  day . 

I’m  not  going  to  lie  and say  that  I  did  stupid  stuff  with  the  girls  only  when  I  was  younger  and  didn’t  know  any  better . 

I should  have  because  as  my folks  used to  say ,  ‘girl ,  you  were  raised  better  than  that ! ‘

When  I  got  a  little  bit  older ,  say in my late 30 ‘ s and early  40’s ,  the  ”  silly ,  stupid  stuff  gene” was back and better than ever . 

Now that I’m  older and I like to think a little  bit  more mature ,  I look back and think to myself:

“WOW ,   DID WE  REALLY  DO  HALF  THE  STUFF  THAT  WE DID? !”

Don’t  get me  wrong . 

This  wasn’t  the  kind of  things that would have you wearing  an orange  jumpsuit  for  the  rest  of  your  life . 

Still ,  OH MY GOD ,  WHAT  WERE  WE  THINKING ?  !  

Thank  God  we  all  met  at  a  time  when  there  was  no  social  media . 

You  knew  your  friends  from  chuch ,  school ,  work  or the  neighborhood . 

In my  case ,  two  of  my friends ,  I knew from  work  and  one went to  high school  with  me.

The  other  six I  met  through  the  pen  pal  section  of  a sports  magazine  and  something  called  ”  Friendship  Books . ”

These  were  little  books  that  you  made from index  cards or construction  paper  in  which  a person  wrote  down  their  name ,  address ,  the  player  or teams  that they liked  and  any  other  information  about  themselves . 

You  then  mailed  it  to  another  friend  who  mailed  it  to  someone  else . 

When  the book  was full, it was sent to  the  person  who  made the book in the first place . 

Believe it or not ,  after all  these years ,  all of us are friendly  with many of the people  whose  names were in those books.

Try doing  that  now . 

We now text each other  almost every day and we’re  on social  media    whether  it be Facebook ,  Instagram ,  or Twitter.

Yes, we still get silly and stuck on stupid  from time  to  time . 

We don’t  do FB  anymore . 

(  That’s  Friendship  Books ,  not Facebook . )

We’ve  been  best friends for a long time  and I don’t know   what I would do if I  didn’t  have my Circle  of  Sisters  around me to be my sounding  board  about  EVERYTHING . 

(  Thanks  Susi  Q ,  Lisa ,  Carol ,  Shana ,  Tee ,  Socorro ,  Mish  and  Myra !  Love  you  guys  to  the  Moon  and  back .  )

This includes  going  on  a 30 Plus  Teams  Tour  with  or  without  them  because  we  all  have  the  same  motto . 

”  STAYING  HOME  IS  NOT  AN  OPTION .  ”

What  about  you ?  

Do  you  have  friends  that  stood  by  you  through  thick  and  thin ?  

Do  you  do silly  things when you  get  together ? 

Drop me  a  line  in the  comments  section  and  thanks for  liking my  blog .