Girls Weekend

My visit with Shannon and Heather was fantastic. Really great. I felt a tad guilty that I didn't play much of a tour guide or a host. We mostly just hung out in Berkeley and stayed away from my home and children. We shopped along Solano and on the upscale Fourth Street. We had sushi, drank wine, and only ventured into San Francisco for one evening on the town. To me it was perfect. I haven't had a weekend like that in ages, and it took me back to my pre-children self. It was almost like the early days in Denver when Shannon and I would spend Saturday afternoons on Pearl Street or at Flatiron's shopping mall, only with less disposable income and more chatter about children than promotions, raises or crazy coworkers. Instead of shopping at the Peppercorn and Pottery Barn, picking up high-priced sparkly holiday candles and table settings we browsed consignment stores and spent a significant amount of time in two or three separate toy stores, purchasing trinkets for munchkins.

Saturday evening we went out in San Francisco, we dressed up, all three of us wearing the black-pants and dressy top uniform. We started with drinks at a low key bar in North Beach, and then went on to a lovely dinner at the Steps Of Rome. From there we found a hole in the wall bar, where a chunky older gentleman who claimed to be a former pro- boxer told me that I had an amazing neck, which prompted us to leave before our drinks were drained, lest he decide that he wanted to break it-creepy. Another reminder of how our lives have changed, rather than getting glances from hot young college boys, we have old graying men trying to pick up our drinks. We finished off the night with pastries at a little bakery, and arrived back at home by midnight. There were no shots of tequila, no dancing at trendy clubs, but it was just what I wanted. Good conversation with great friends. So I have grown up a little, but I can honestly say that one thing hasn't changed-there are still few things I appreciate as much as real friends.

The fact that Heather and Shannon left their families and spent their "hall pass" here in Berkeley with me, doing little more than window shopping says so much to me. I am touched and grateful, and looking forward to a lifetime of future girls weekends!