Friend Time, Talk and Wine

First of all, thanks to all of you who chimed in on the Mommy/Daughter Date article over at Faith and Family Live. Such fun comments!

And second, I am just back from -- not special mommy time, but -- special friend time. My friend Andrea and I connected in Omaha (after not seeing one another for five years) and stayed two nights for a little mom getaway. You'll find Andrea's name in the front of my Rosary book -- I dedicated it to her, as she has told me for years that I would/should/could write a book, and she regularly checked up on me to ask if I was making time in my life to write. A couple of years ago, she said that as soon as I published a book, she would fly in (she lives in New York) and visit.

She did. We stayed at a fun, art deco hotel downtown (Andrea's very sweet, very generous gift to me) and we talked, we laughed, we drank red wine, we ate, we talked, we laughed, we talked, we drank wine, and we talked. I used to call Andrea "my other spiritual director" and she called me the same, because we can both share anything with the other and know that we will get brutally honest (and much appreciated) feedback. And nothing has changed in the last five years.

Last week, I was feeling a bit envious of one of our priests, who was heading off on retreat. I was imagining my own retreat -- quiet time and meditative prayer ... a complete and utter getaway from the world.

This wasn't exactly that kind of retreat, but it was incredible refreshment for my mind and spirit.

Thanks, Andrea.