Wednesday, January 6, 2010

"don't even get me started!"


today i drove down to visit an old friend, also in connecticut, to meet for a beach walk, shopping and lunch.....a litte reunion!

 i thought... it has been great reconnecting with some cousins, old family friends, friends from grammar school, high school and college.   when we "speak" to each other, it feels like i'm bumping into them on our little village main street or at the pool.  considering how families move today, it's kind of nice to have a little bit of hometown feeling...especially, since i hardly have any family still living in the area.

facebook, was also the reason for our reunion today.  my friend and i worked at brooks brothers in new york city together.....we moved out of tcity, we both met great guys, got married, had kids, moved a bit and kept in touch throughout the years.  we even shared some of our very close friends....they were in california and our friends moved out to the same area....they have become very close friends through the years, even though one of the couples' has moved back to connecticut!
 
we haven't seen each other for about 15 years!  how does life fly by like that.  we;ve been in touch through the years, sharing christmas cards and friends.  so, we've been in touch and talked through our friends connections and family connections.....we have been living parallel lives on different coasts and for the last 6 years, we have been living about an hour away from each other.....life gets busy...or complicated by people coming and going.

the crazy thing is, it's been so long...yet, because we go back so far, we fell right into step...literally.  we met at a beautiful connecticut beach..we walked at the beach.....we both live on the shoreline.  we have kept up with each other and could easily fill in the blanks.  the really wierd thing is that when we knew each other, back in our 20 something city days, we were new found friends living the dream in the big city...trying to live on our starter salaries, in squished apartments....too little space for way too much money....but worth every penny of experience and...we survived!  and had a ball!  the thing that moves me is that we were once newfound friends....we were just starting out.....

and now, we re connect and we are the old friends!  we felt like members of a brooks brothers sorority.  established in 1812,  346 madison avenue, new york, new york 10017........we had so many young city friends....starting out.....trainees, sales, buyers, asst. buyers....going to parties and parties!

we were so happy to share each others stories..."your mom?"..."well, she was 92"..".remember....what's his name...wait...you dumped him...i thought he dumped you!"....." what was her name, she married that great guy from....we bump into each other all of the time."...."and your dad....?"...."he never got to meet my boys..we named him after my dad"....."that's right we were both the youngest in the family...we were the ones with the older parents"......on and on and on....we had to pause , to share some of the sorrow...we understood for each other....and laughed.....  like yesterday....


...and to think, we got reunited on facebook.....lots more friends are starting to get on facebook.....lots of people still see facebook as a  college kid thing.....i''d still be in college if we had facebook, back then....and forget high school!  i lived my childhood watching i love lucy and every television show that was funny and appeared to be real life or the life that seemed cool to me.
.
my old friend and i talked about the kids. her boys, 14 and 16 ...mine..almost 15 and 13 1/2...... their personalities...their schools....how we love them...how they make us laugh...how we embarrass them...and how we feel so blessed to have them and husbands we love!  it sure is great to hear about other couples who are happy too...and have similar values...trying to live simply amidst the chaos!  we talked about our golden retrievers and our cats!

we walked an talked at the beach for an hour and did a quick thrift shop stop..... a shabby chic quick spin through the little church basement niche, a new find for me!  after all, we are shoppers from way back.

i love to find old furniture to paint....and cherubs and china and boxes to modpodge.  she's selling on e-bay.  this is her link...she's got alot in her store...from vintage trinkets...abercrombie jean skirts....wedgewood...ralph lauren,  u.s.a.pottery. china cups and saucers  and all kinds of treasures...she's got the spirit, the style and the eye!

here's her e-bay store info......Fasta Fa Zool....something her father loved to say...



Fasta Fa Zool








  eBay Store 
A little of this, a little of that...an eclectic jumble of fun goods. A collection of nostalgic, vintage, modern, space age, hip and interesting items which have accumulated or been accumulated. My store is all about fun and the experience of finding a certain something and the thrill of the find!

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http://cgi.ebay.com/Vtg-FEBRUARY-PAL-Birthday-Angel-Valentine-HeartFigure_W0QQitemZ120512825227QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0f1fc78b

she was filling me in on her ebay life, encouraging me to start my own business......but what will my business be....biff always says, "LIZBIZ"......we both chat about the styles and names of a store i'd always dreamed about.........we both said,it should be.....
 "LITTLEMARYMIXUP"......like my mom called me!  and then it will go along with my blog!
 
.....having been in the retail world together, we love each others style....respect each others talents!

we talked about our spouses and houses...not superficially, but the reality...and how we love living in a house that's comfy for all.

we went to lunch at  a new shi-shi restaurant, that was french, farm style fun..we talked about the great style in the restaurant and the tables and decor....we asked the waitress to ask the owner the color of the painted walls.  we always did have color in our retail lives....

it's not everyday that i get to have a friend talk about the colors of a carpet, the hydrangea blue of a wall or the cornflower blue or the perfect yellow and the jade green dining room and shabby chic and comfortable living.....

 full of  stories to share with family..
full  of plans to get together with the family...
 full of good wishes for job prospects...
                                                         full of reminiscing about crazy n.y.c. days..and                                                                                                 nights......and parties...and people....

and we took pictures...she wants to post hers on facebook for our sweet friend in california......we both missed our hysterically funny friend,  joan......we had stories to share with her.......the distance would seem short,  with our new facebook lives......even if our kids make fun of us oldies, but goodies, using facebook.....to keep in touch........we left laughing!  we drove off to meet our kids.......


  as i drove home, i thought about how nourishing good chick friends are....how important it is for moms and women, in general, to keep up with friends cuz we help keep each other "up" and we support each other, if we're with real friends....i don't really have time for anyone other than real....life's too short!

we were certainly nourished by trating ourselves to that lovely new restaurant....i called it "groovy" when i was telling the family about our lunch.....my 13 year old, t.j. said...."woah! mom you have gone way too far into the hippie world now!  he mimicked me  g r o o v y..."

in the early evening, i got on the computer....i had a new friend on facebook.....another old friend from brooks brothers.....and it started all over again...the catching up has just begun.

today was a great day...just for me....a mini-getaway.....after a great christmas break.....just some time set aside to catch up with a friend.....  as biff always says, "make sure the mom gets her oxygen first!"  which all women know, but we don't always think to do....takecare of ourselves...even, in little ways!

and, when i got to my little netbook tonight, my son was googling, "why i hate my mom's blog".....and i laughed.....that's o.k. cuz it's for me. and that's just the point.....i need one place where i don't have to feel judged by anyone......it is my own place ....... i need one place in the world that's my own.....the old rant every mother hears her own mother say at some point in her life....and now it's my own little rant.....but i have my blog.....my own place ....to write what i want, where i want, when i want........it's mine....all mine!  get the oxygen!   don't even get me started!