Girl Chat

I was joined by one my favorite friends this Saturday to a workout session by Grit Fitness held at our local mall in Dallas, TX.  We found ourselves sweaty and pushing through each set as strangers walked passed us.  We didn’t care, we were on a mission to feel good!  After our sweat fest, we found ourselves hungry (of course, right after a workout) and found a nearby spot to catch up on girl chat.  A hour later, we departed and it felt great to catch up, laugh, share and vent. 

After I left, I was on my way home and I got a text from my sister-in-law Rita, “When can we have a one on one date?  I miss you and we need to talk about life.”  Before I go on, I have to tell you, I had a million and one things to do that day, and although I wanted to respond and say, “Yes, let’s meet up” all I could do was think of my to do list.  Just as I was going back and forth in my head.  I stopped mid thought.  I just started reading “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” and I remembered a passage I had just read the night before.  I can’t remember it verbatim, but it said something along the lines of don’t obsess with to do lists.  When you check off your items, there will immediately be a new list of items to check off.  When you die, you will still have an inbox of things to do.  Sometimes you just have to enjoy life as it is without worrying if things will get done or not.  Now, I feel this applies to personalities like mine who can’t just stop and smell the roses.  If you are like me, you’ll understand.  I’m always on the go, with things to do and sometimes there just isn’t enough time to relax.  Although, I love that about myself, it can also be a negative factor.  So instead of putting it off for tomorrow, I gave my sister in law a call and said, “I’m free today.  What time do you want to meet up?” 

And how glad was I that I let go of my to do list for the day.  Not only did I accomplish letting go of a planned day of list checking, I managed to not only get my items done, but I also got to spend time with 3 special ladies in my life.  I met my mom for a pedicure and a little shopping and still had time to go to the groceries and clean house.  I spent that night relaxing and having more girl chat with my sister-in-law.  The best kind of girl chat is being in your comfy clothes and grabbing a coffee or tea.  We sat outside of Starbucks with the night sky as our backdrop and sipped our lattes and expressed our frustration with work and shared topics that were weighing on us.  We closed down Starbucks and we were the last car in the lot.  Talk about girl chat to its fullest. 

Having time to reflect on life with friends is like sunshine on a darkened day.  It cheers us up.  It helps us release what we hold in that our husbands just don’t understand. 

My take away for today is make time for a girlfriend in your life.  Sometimes you’ll realize you need it more than they do.