Sometimes, the Cup is Half Full --Things I love, Day 1

Last year, my friend Christine  hosted a February challenge, which required participants to blog daily about something they love. She didn't do it again this year, but I've decided that since this really is the month of love, I'd like to do something similar. Starting today, and going until Valentines day, I'm going to blog about things I love. Forgive me if I gush a bit.

So, things I love, day one: The Girls

Every once in a while, I get to feeling sorry for myself. I feel stress of one kind or another and let it get under my skin until it burns a hole in me. Sadly, this occasionally happens with small stuff that doesn't really matter. Stuff that takes very little to fix.

That's partly why I have my convertible. Even when it's cold outside, as long as the sun is out, I can put the top down and go for a drive--even if it's just to a convenience store to get a Dr. Pepper--and the small stuff, the stupid stuff, doesn't bother me so much. During the winter, this is harder to do, so the small stuff has more of a chance to build up into medium-sized stuff before I'm able to shuck it off.

This is where my girls come in. And by my girls, I don't mean my daughters (though, they are--technically--my girls, too). I have this incredible, amazing, and fantastic group of friends. Pretty sure I've mentioned them before, actually. We get together once a month--sometimes more. During our time together, we are able to be ourselves. Not the mom, the wife, the taxi driver, the cook, the maid, the sports-coach, the hairdresser, the seamstress, or the all around go-to person--OURSELVES.

I love these women like sisters. They're good for me. When we get together, I'm able to completely forget the things that bother me and smile, say what's on my mind, and roll around on the floor laughing until I've cried all my makeup off and left a puddle on the carpet. And the best part is when this happens, I'm never alone. We're all there, laughing together. (There's a thing about crying and stressing and worrying together too, but I'm not going there today.)

The girls and I spent this weekend away, and I find myself feeling infinitely lucky to have such incredible women in my life. Each of us needed the break for different reasons, but all of the issues are things that can be overcome with love, time, and strength. That's the thing--we help each other be stronger so that over time, love is able to cover-over hurt, help us overcome stress.

One of my friends has a family member who is a breast cancer survivor, so of course, mammograms occasionally come up in our topics of conversation. Long story short--in the world of a breast cancer survivor, having your "cup" be half full--well, it means you've lived through some frightening, life-altering stuff and still come out on top. (BTW, we made that term up--but it does make sense, right?)In this case, having a cup be full would mean certain death.

Today, I've decided this is my new motto. Well, that and something about karma--but that's another topic altogether.

But wait--if you showed up at AuthorPalooza yesterday, you're doubting the truth of my weekend away! Alas, some important things have been known to drag us away from the party--temporarily. Which is what happened to me yesterday. And it was a great event, put on by an incredible store manager, with bunches of super-uber-talented authors, so it was worth the break. But I went back where I needed to be, with women who mean a whole bunch to me.

And today, my half-full cup runneth over.

**More about Author Palooza (inc pictures) later.