On Thursday morning, my friend M called me from Chicago. She was in the airport on a stopover, on her way to Buffalo, when she realized the person she was meeting wasn’t coming in until later that evening. She was going to be stranded in the Buffalo Airport for several hours. No one should ever been stranded in Buffalo, so I threw some great CDs in the car, and drove out to pick her up. I got to gush over her gorgeous, gorgeous new engagement ring and hear all about how her adorable fiance popped the question (does it get much better than hearing about how a dear friend is going to marry the love of her life?). We had a fabulous chat in the car and a fabulous lunch and it turned what was going to be an ordinary Thursday into a great little adventure.

On Friday, The Other 1/4 and I met up at the outlet mall that’s equidistant from both of us. Neither of us like to shop. Both of us feel that the clothes we buy should feel like clothes we already own. We’re obsessive about finding things we absolutely love and not buying anything we don’t need or won’t actually wear. We are the perfect shopping companions. There’s no irritation if the other person wants to try on the same pair of shoes four times before ultimately deciding not to buy them. And, goodness, it was good to spend time with The Other 1/4! It just feels good to be around her. She’s a huge part of my past and still major part of my present. She’s the kind of friend you can say the most bizarre things to and she just automatically gets it.

I’ve been so serious. So bogged down with everything I have to do and everything that’s been left undone for too long, and it’s left me tired and overwhelmed. Ending last week with two little road trips and time spent with dear friends was exactly what I needed. This week, I feel recharged and ready to take on the tasks at hand. Sometimes, the best way to move forward is to give yourself some time to off.