Best Friends and Bonding Time

It happens every Wednesday. We call it Bad Girls Day. It's the day my friends and I put aside to spend time with each other. This particular circle includes my Sister in law, Nancy and my niece, Christy. My friend Kat joins us occasionally as does my other niece, Joni. It's Nancy and Christy and I that really hold the day open and special every week. Nancy and Christy both live just across the alley from me. It makes getting together a pretty easy thing to do. We take advantage of that fact every week and sometimes even more often.

Our Wednesdays start out with an early morning coffee together. I'll usually go across the alley and we'll sit around the kitchen table. Nancy makes pretty good coffee but I'll usually have Kool-Aid instead. Nancy is also one of the best cooks in my family. She'll often have home made cookies or some other special treat for us to munch on. We get comfortable with drinks and treats and a good supply of cigarettes and then fun begins. Nancy will turn on the radio or put on some girl friendly movie or television show. Joni will often get out pictures for us to look at or get out some fashion magazines. The dogs are given treats to keep them quiet and happy and then we all settle in.

No matter what we might be planning for the rest of the day, we always start with our sit at the kitchen table. The caffeine and nicotine work their magic and we get our little morning buzz going. We talk about everything. Most days start off with Christy telling tales of school and work. Christy has so many things going on in her life that she keeps us from ever getting bored. We hear tales about her co-workers and teachers. It's usually small tales that get us warmed up and going , ready for the bigger gossip.

Boyfriends usually come next. Christy is an open book with us and tells us all about her love life. She's so open that sometimes I have to remind her that I'm older and not used to hearing about some things. She just laughs at me and carries on. I love it . Nancy and I get to feel like teenagers again every time she asks for advise or lets us in on some secret. If Joni is with us, we get to hear of all her future plans with her boyfriend. We love it. Nancy and I get so many tickles just listening to the younger girls go on about their guys. We all cut up and tease about the men in our lives and the fun we have just doing this is immeasurable. This goes on for a time and then we start to talk about what we might do with the rest of our day.

We don't do anything too grand or exciting. Bad Girls Day for us usually means going to the grocery store together or baking cookies or some other treat. We'll sometimes do something for a holiday. We've carved pumpkins together and made home made Christmas ornaments. It's never anything expensive or far from home. The whole idea of the day is just to spend quality time with each other. The little things we do together add up to years of fun and good memories. Christy has always been the one to really keep the tradition going. She doesn't allow flimsy excuses to take time away from us. If I decide to sleep in late, she just keeps calling till I get my butt out of bed and come over. I've tried to fake being crabby about it , but it never works. As soon as we get together we're laughing or complaining about something, and it makes us all happy just to have each other to do it with.

There's always a break in the day for us. I'll go back home and tidy my house or run errands. All the other girls will go off their own ways and do whatever they have to for that day. We'll usually plan a time in the afternoon and then all get back together again. This time none of us turn down Nancy's coffee. It's the middle of the day and we're all ready for an attitude adjustment. We keep this second visit short most days. It's normally just another chance to sit around the table and gossip a bit. If it's a sunny day, we're very likely to all sit out in the yard and tan. On the days that Kat and Joni join us we often sit outside and tan while we tell our tales. The simplicity in our choices of things to do is on purpose. We all clearly appreciate that this is our bonding time.

The funny thing about our Bad Girls Day is that we never really do anything bad. We might go shopping or even swimming on occasion but, that's rare. More often our time is just spent sitting around together. I guess we think it's a naughty pleasure just to take time out in the middle of each week and keep it just for our friendships. Giving the day a name just added to it somehow. I can't begin to tell how much each Wednesday means to me. Even when our visits are short , it adds so much to my day and my life. I love my bad girls. I've never regretted carving out the time for us to all be together, not even on the days that I really wanted to sleep in.

It's a lot to ask of some people to put aside time and make a point of relaxing and communicating. As much as we all love to spend time with our friends, it's often hard to do with the hectic pace of life these days. Most of us have jobs and families with their own interests. It's so important to make sure to schedule time for friends. It's all too easy to let time and space come between us. Stay close with your family and friends by making your own Bad Girls Day or Bad Guys Night. It's fun and an investment of time that will pay off with bundles of priceless memories.