"Hope...it is about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us."
And my girlfriends, you see, give me hope. When we are together, everything feels possible despite all life's evidence to the contrary.
We laugh. Non-stop. The kind of bursting, gut-shaking guffaw that leaves my cheeks hurting and makes Pepsi run bubbling out my nose.
Carbonated holiness.
That's how Anne Lamott describes laughter.
And she is spot on.
There is something so holy, so sacred when my girlfriends and I get together, laughing till our sides ache, till we are desperately gasping for air, tears streaming, infusing each other's hearts, minds and souls with hope.
Throughout my life, I have been blessed with so many amazingly awesome, hilariously wonderful, hope-invoking girlfriends. "Thankful" does not even begin to express my gratitude.
Granted, we don't always see each other as often as we'd like. As often as we need to. Even in a small town like Coon Rapids, life gets hectic and my girlfriends and I are like the proverbial ships passing in the night, but it's in the grocery aisle or at the bank ATM instead. Thank goodness for Facebook.
Hope fills my computer screen at a click or keystroke. Instant connection with my girlfriends near and far.
And in just 11 days, I'll in Cincinnati, OH, surrounded by some of the best long-time girlfriends a gal could ever hope for. My childhood/high school BFFs. And maybe, from what I just read on Facebook, if I'm lucky, an old college buddy (Anne, we will make it work!).
Ahhh.
The 2012 Cincy or Bust! Hey, We're Still Livin' and Laughin' Tour is about to begin.
Hope springs eternal.
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