Alone trips

"So Hedy, tell us. Does Jim get to take trips with some chick friend of his?"

In theory, he could.

If he'd known the chick since the third grade. If they'd grown up in the same neighborhood. If they were best friends. If their Moms were best friends, too. And if said chick was just like a sister to him, only better – without all the ridiculous familial obligations and bullshit baggage that seem to go along with certain relatives.

Plus, she'd have to be butt-ugly.

Wait. Scratch that last part. Anyhoo.

Nelson is my oldest and dearest friend.

No matter where in the world he's living at the moment, he always comes to visit us in Chicago at least once during the summer.

Everyone who meets him, loves him. Everyone.
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As soon as I left college and started working full time, I made a point to take a trip by myself once a year.

Well, technically, these vacations weren’t entirely alone because I’d always find a way to work in a few days visiting friends. Kyle on Nantucket. Lisa in Florida. Ann in San Diego.

And Nelson, wherever he happened to be.

These Alone Trips, as they came to be called, carried over into my married life. They help me recharge. They remind me who I was Before.

Before becoming a grownup. Before being responsible. Before getting married.

Too many people lose who they really are by trying to be what they think others need. I try to be what others really need by always remembering who I am.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am listening to: KT Tunstall – Other Side of the World
I am reading: World Without End by Follett
And I am: Needing a beach