Anchored to Friends...

I came home to this invite and bracelet in my mail box late last Fall... little did I know the Gals Weekend at The Rock would be as much fun as it was! You get 12 girls under one roof for a weekend and there's bound to be tonnes of laughter, great food and drink, amazing company and new friendships made.

I really only knew our hostess and had met a few of the other girls once or twice at a house party or birthday, but I knew any friend of our hostess would be a pretty cool gal and sure enough, what a fantastic group of gals it was! We even had our own hashtag and motto for the weekend... #livelifeanchoredtofriends ... 

This was the view out of the front window of The Rock (aka my friend's family's Lake House in Port Elgin). I always love getting to the lake in the winter as you never know what wonders Mother Nature may have in store for you. Their home is absolutely gorgeous and if I should ever build my own home, I'm going to instill the assistance of my friend's Mom in the design of it as every detail of this home is perfection! 

We even had a mascot for the weekend....

Meet Randy!! I think I need a Randy for my house!

This was a 'no jeans allowed' weekend, therefore, we lounged in our Lulu's, ate, drank, played card games, ate and drank some more, got to know each other, laughed, watched movies and ate and drank some more. Absolute girly perfection!

This is just an example of the scrumptiously yummy food we had in abundance all weekend! Needless to say, at one point I felt I needed to burn a few calories and went for a walk down to the harbour and main beach.

Winter along Lake Huron is always stormy and snowy, but beautiful! This is the lake town I frequented most often growing up, so it felt almost surreal to be on that beach all by myself. I'm used to being there in the summer with it being super busy (see this post from this past summer) but it was really cool to look around and be the one and only person there.

On the Sunday before we left we decided to explore Lake Huron...Literally on top of Lake Huron. The gals scaled 'The Twin Peaks' and had shot putt competitions with the gorgeous ice orbs that had formed.

Here is our hostess with the mostest (below), Captain Carlie.... Talk about a wonderful, thoughtful woman with a heart of gold who I am very lucky to call my friend!  Not only is she uber thoughtful, but her attention to detail is second to none! She got each of us a memento to remember the weekend by and according to the temp tattoos she also got for us, it was "Party Time" allllll weekend long!!

Here we all are....... This was right before we jumped into a game of Cards Against Humanity.... Talk about a great way to get to know the people you're with!

I can't thank Carlie (and her family) enough for allowing us to spend the weekend in their home-away-from-home. It was a weekend full of so many memory making moments and I hope to see these gals again soon!

LIVE LIFE ANCHORED TO FRIENDS!!!

RR

Carpe Diem...

Every time I put on this bracelet from my friend's boutique, a smile comes across my face and a sense of motivation to face and seize the day (or night) comes over me.

Some may say, "Really? How does something as simple as a bracelet do that?"....My response to that is that everyone's motivators, triggers and coping strategies are very, very personal (and need to be in order to truly 'work' for you) and I cannot express how important...and critical... it is to develop these strategies for your day-to-day health and well being.

I come home to this guy everyday and no matter how upsetting or 'bad' a day it may have been, to have him greet me at the door with that grin and tail wagging a mile a minute, it puts things into perspective quite quickly and I can't help but smile. Our evening walks allow me to clear my head, to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. In the summer time (ie. flip flop weather) as we go for our walks, I can look down at my right foot and see 4 words with so much significance and meaning to my family and I, that I can't help but refocus. 

Earlier this week I received news that literally knocked me to the ground and I immediately needed to put in place every single coping strategy I could in order to navigate my way through, along with my friends, what had happened and come to terms with the fact that I will never, ever see an old friend again.

Text and Facebook messages turned into phone calls and walks down memory lane with old friends, turned into tears (many, many times), turned into support and encouraging words (and beautiful flowers) from new friends, turned into quiet time looking through photo albums and lots of reflection.....

As I looked through photos and yearbooks from highschool, talked to friends who I haven't spoken with in quite some time and hugged one of my best friends after hours of talking through memories...one thing remained constant...How much we cared for Greg and how so very, very much he will be missed. 

Life tests us at times....it throws us curves balls (...this just made me remember that Greg was an amazing ball player)...it pushes us to the brink....

It is those times, when you feel that that there is no end in sight and that there is no way out of the situation you are currently in, that I hope you are able to find a way to dig really, really deep and activate those coping strategies. Lean on those who love you and to try and remember that tomorrow brings a new day and that new day is yours to seize, no matter what life may be throwing at you.

As I'm writing this, the sun has come out.....tears are welling up....... I'm looking at the photo album full of memories from happier days..... and happier days will come again. Life will never be quite the same, but life will move forward and continue on with one less amazing person here with us.... It is the sunshine streaming through my window onto these tulips from a great friend that reminds me of this......

The sun will come out...Grey skies will clear...Thank you Greg, for bringing us sunshine today, yesterday and always.

RR