Microdermab-Rose-ion

Cheesy title, huh?

I wanted to blog about the weekend, and use a metaphor for what good friends mean to me. Since Rose and I spent our weekend at a spa, I thought about facials, etc....and microdermabrasion came to mind. You know, that blasting off all the grit and gunk that just living in this world plasters onto our skin, freeing the young, new stuff underneath.

That's kind of how the weekend was for me. The atmosphere was picturesque--nestled in the Smoky Mountains with a lake view and the most amazing sunsets. The coffee and coffeehouse music were nourishing in a "chill" sort of way, and fed into the entire "retreat" goal we were aiming for. The hot stone massage was nothing short of incredible. Made my scoliosis-ridden spine feel like warm noodles, and every other nerve ending feel like--I don't know. Warm mashed potatoes? Not quite the right word, because I smelled like Aveda oils, which is ever so much more sophisticated than comfort food, but you get the idea. The weather was crisp in the evenings, and perfectly warm without the slightest touch of humidity during the day. The Christian bookstore with 20,000 titles under $5.00 afforded inexpensive, quiet soul food. The solitary swim in the isolated pool was rejuvenating and not the slightest bit spooky (really! I mean that!). And those crisp, cotton sheets and down duvets? To die for!

But I think it was the conversation and the friendship that really made the weekend for me. The comfortable and companionable silences, the room for laughter and tears, and the probing kind of conversation that made it feel more like microdermabrasion than just a quiet girls' weekend. Do you have a friend who knows you? Really knows you?

We played the "True Confession" game all weekend long. One giant marathon conversation (except for reading, swimming, massage, and prayer times. There was plenty of quiet, too...). So it went, "True confession....what is your biggest regret?" or "What would you do if you couldn't work where you do, now?" or "What do you love about yourself, and what would you change?" Nothing was off-limits, and we answered anything the other one asked. Microdermabrasion. Stuff you don't even realize that you hadn't even though about, and there it was on the table, free for the consumption of another.

I love conversation like that. I tend to retreat from it in the real world. I am an extrovert, and talk to tons of people, but not like that. I'm also extremely sensitive, and carry a lot of the weight of the world around with me, and don't talk about those things, either. And it makes me gritty, and worn down, and less aware, and just basically not as free. Does that make sense at all? So then when you remove the layer of all the dirt (kinda like when you get a facial), you look at all the stuff you've been wearing, and are just amazed that all that was stuck on you! It makes me keenly aware of the need for accountability in my life. It was wonderful to ask questions and share with someone who loves the Lord as much as Rose does. I was, and am still, struck again by how blessed I am to have friends.

We met 2 of Rose's friends for lunch on the way home, and shared with them a little about our weekend. Mark, the husband, rubbed his chin at one point and said, "You know, I've never had a friend like that. Not in all my life."
It's not something to take for granted.

Thanks, Rosieboo. Let's not drink the hemlock of the possibility of another getaway like that. There are too many of the world's problems that we haven't solved yet. ;-)
Love you!