Stop....Breathe...and Act Like a Teenager!

When I was growing up, I lived in the "fun house."  My teenage years featured AMAZING slumber parties with crazy good food.  My house was also the place my friends could come throughout the week when they needed some good old-fashioned "Blue Bell ice cream therapy."  That's right.  You could walk through my front door with the weight of being a teenager on your shoulders, grab a spoon and sit down with the newest gallon of Blue Bell.  Many of my friends walked in our door and grabbed "their spoons" without even saying a word.  They had to get a few bites of heaven down before the real talkin' began.  When they moved from the kitchen to the living room (with gallon in hand), my momma and me knew the therapy session could begin.  The greatest therapy sessions filled our house with the roars of non-stop laughing. Those friends would leave my house "healed from the woes of the world."  I will admit, that sometimes today, I wish I could go back, for just a moment, to the simpler times in life.

Over six years ago, some amazing friendships began to form in parking lots with mats, weights and a Camp Gladiator trainer.  Those friendships transformed from workout connections to true lifelines with some of the greatest women I have ever known.  We have laughed together, cried together, and carried each other through some difficult seasons of life.  Last night, the seven of us sat around a big round table and celebrated a new tradition of "game night."  We played some HILARIOUS games.  We laughed until our faces were bright red, and we could barely speak.  We ate crazy good food including homemade donut holes!  (Momma Vaughan is blessed by those around me who can create a heavenly food such as this.)  For a few hours, nothing else in the world mattered except us.  For a few hours, life just seemed simple and fun.

Our lives are sometimes hard, messy, overwhelming and unpredictable.  It is my greatest belief that we need happy pockets of time to just stop, breathe, and act like teenagers again.  Laughter, love and homemade donut holes can truly refresh our souls.  Spend time with amazing friends and be blessed.