Powerpuff Girls and Mojo-Jojo In Chi-Town

I just came back from Chicago, where I had a wonderful visit with my girl friends from law school whom I had not seen for almost 10 months. The last time I saw them was for Pas's wedding, a wedding that I had been supposed to attend with EXBF. However, we broke up a day before the wedding, so I made the trip alone. My girl friends - Pas, Bubbles, and Wood - saved me that weekend. They distracted me from this, with this, gave me hugs, brought me tissues, made sure my wine glass was always filled, and made it clear that in their minds EXBF was the lowest form of pond scum on the planet. A sentiment which is not unappreciated, even now. I tried to be strong and to hold it together through the wedding.

Remembering that last trip to see them, I recalled things I hadn't thought about for a while. The journey to see them and the wedding are a blur. It was after all of that, while I was on my way home to face the emptiness inside our apartment, that I clearly remember not being able to hold it together any longer. Waiting to board my plane to New York, I couldn't stop crying. I wasn't sobbing or making a spectacle of myself in the airport, but I couldn't stop the tears from leaking out of my eyes and streaming down my face. I kept squeezing tissues against my eyes and face, trying to will the tears to stop, but they kept coming.

I must have looked a mess, because at one point, while I was sitting on the floor leaning against a wall, a man approached me to see if I was all right. He leaned down towards me and asked if I was OK. I looked up and saw that he had brought me a glass of water. I tried to muster up a reassuring smile, but then got emotional all over again at his kindness and started crying while at the same time nodding to him that I was OK.

I think about that now and it no longer makes me sad. Instead, it stands out as an example of how caring human beings can be to one another (if they want to be). I have no idea where that man got the glass of water or for how long he had been watching me cry that day. But, to this day it amazes me that a perfect stranger was so thoughtful. It's comforting that people like that exist, and it's pretty incredible.

As are my friends, and that's what this post is supposed to be about: My Amazing Girl Friends. The official purpose of this trip was to surprise Bubbles, who turns 30 this coming week. The little 3-0, how cute! Wood and Pas organized all the logistical details (my only job, which I carried off successfully, was getting to Chicago), and we set it up so that Bubbles knew that Wood was coming in to town, but had no idea that Pass and I were also going to be there. On Friday night, I texted Wood after landing at Midway, got directions to the bar where she and Bubbles were at, and then hopped in to a taxi to meet them. On the way to the bar, I was positively giddy. I love surprises!

Thirty minutes later, I reached the bar, located Bubbles and Wood sitting at the bar, and sidled up into the seat right next to Bubbles. She turned to her right to glance at me, and I stared directly at her not saying anything, waiting for her reaction. For a few seconds, her expression was a big, "Oh!" Exactly the reaction Wood and I had hoped for.

The next morning, after walking around the Japanese Garden and down by the Lake (so beautiful!) in Hyde Park, we pulled a similar stunt when Pas and her husband arrived, and just like that the four of us (+ 1) were together again, talking about everything, drinking beers (or in the case of Pas, $9 martinis), and being silly. As always happens when I see them, the visit left me with the overwhelming feeling of wishing that we all still lived in the same place.

I'd love it if we all lived closer together, but barring that ideal scenario, I'm just really glad that I have them as friends. 10 months is too long to go in between visits, but there's something wonderful about the fact that even though 10 months had gone by, it still felt basically the same to see each other as it had the last time we were together. We talk on the phone, over email, and through our blogs, so even though they're far away, they're not. The best part of seeing them was that it wasn't all about catching up. We didn't need to catch up because we basically knew what was going on in each other's lives. It was more about just being together, knowing they were right beside me instead of half way across the country for a change.

I already miss them, but more than sadness I just feel really happy that I was able to see them. They're awesome, and I'm lucky to have them in my life.