Reunited

This past weekend I traveled to Nashville, TN. I have always heard that Nashville is so awesome I was really looking forward to going. The purpose of this trip was to visit one of my best friends that I had not seen in two years. For nick-names' sake I will call her "Ms. J". Personal and complicating circumstances are the reason for the separation, but the issues have been resolved and for that I am very thankful. We didn't do as much sight see-ing as I hope to do next time. We visited the Loveless Cafe, J. Alexanders, Borders Books, Green Hills Mall, and Broadway at night. The trip was devoted to what friends do best...talking, listening, catching up, and growing. I came away from the trip with a new appreciation for my self, her self, and the experiences that have shaped us since we left Tuscaloosa in 2004. Throughout our all night, and I do mean ALL NIGHT, conversations I gained a sense of motivation and excitement to live my life with a "fresher perspective?" I am really trying not to sound super cheesy but it is kind of hard not to. The best thing I learned on my trip was to stop battling the many things I battle internally on a daily basis. Foods, for example. (Guys may not understand this completely but to all of my ladies I know you will.) I can't remember a time in my life where every bite of food that I took was not apprehended or dreaded and every day that passed without exercise I didn't rehearse some negative self talk like "you should have gone on a walk or at least gone to the gym for thirty minutes...you have to go in the morning before you go to Wal-Mart because if you don't go in the morning you will skip working out all together....see you didn't go this morning and now it has been one week since you exercised! oh well in two days it will be Monday and you can start then..." It gets very tiresome and drains so much joy out of my daily life to worry as much as I am prone to do...not just about food but about bills, people dying, Ali getting run over or kidnapped, my boss making my cry, people thinking I am mean or shallow...all kinds of stuff that according to statistics...aren't likely to happen. You often hear people say "choose your battles wisely" and I think I am on my way to really understanding what that means. This is not an apology. It is a celebration! God Bless the people in my life that put up with me. And God Bless me too.