No Rachel Ray's Allowed

The air is thick with humidity today. As I stepped out on the front steps this morning, somehow the concrete managed to feel damp and spongy. Thankfully my mind is clear. My outlook better today. I have possible sticks or long branches or whatever in the fires.

Thursday night. Girls Night on my block. I called my neighbor to see what the plan was an she answered on the first ring. As I said hello I realized she was already talking to someone else and saying, "I don't know about you, but this pregnant woman is done! I need a Bellini. A Leaning Bellini from Macaroni Grill!" I kept saying her name but she didn't hear me or my laughter. No, this is not some bad mother drinking on the job. She's at the end of her second pregnancy and apparently last night suffering some serious "let's just call them Braxton Hicks." In the end she couldn't get out that night so I called my next neighbor on the list.

"Sorry!" she says over the din of a crying baby, "it's just insane over here just like it is at so and so's house (the Braxton Hicks lady), it's not a good night." I hung up the phone.

It's all ok though, don't think I missed out, because I was sitting on a nice brick patio by a trickling fountain in a quiet garden sipping wine. My old neighbor, good friend, and T.D.'s guardian is in town for a few days and we were having our own girls night. It was what I had needed and missed just a tad too much. We spent hours laughing so hard we couldn't breathe (fellow Rachel Ray haters unite!), drinking wine and then comically enormous cups of coffee, noshed on good food, and just spent time catching up like we used to when our decks were connected.

The sun set and we didn't notice. The restaurant emptied and the staff cleared the tables and we still didn't notice. Finally, we realized that it was indeed pretty dark out and oh yeah, everyone else was gone. Our waitress shot us a look and we got up to leave. I breathed a sigh of relief as I dropped my friend off because suddenly my world felt much brighter. Mean Mommy had left the building.

And guess what? I get to do it all again tonight! I don't even care that I woke up with a pounding headache today (dreaded chardonnay) because the healing power that a friend can have extends pretty far.

The rose bush is saved... for now.