My friend by the beach

I have mentioned my friend Glenda on my blog before. I have known her since our kids were babies, 19+years. We met attending church. Good place to meet friends. You know their heart is in the right place. Glenda is not perfect by any means and I am so glad. She is fun, a fantastic sense of humor and so loving. We have been in and out of touch over the years, but our bond has always been there. We were going through raising toddlers, cheating ex-husbands, doubting our faith and doubting ourselves. But every time we were together or just talking on the phone it was like a breath of fresh air. Even though we were struggling with everything, it was still a fun thing.

I am so jealous of Glenda because she is one of the most talented people I know. THE WOMAN CAN PAINT! And I don't mean in an amateur way. We are talking art gallery calibre. I didn't ask her if I could post this picture, but it is my very favorite of her paintings. I personally think it embodies everything that women are all about. Disheveled, beautiful, sad, elegant, melancholy, romantic, etc. The name of the painting is Ardith in the Morning.

Glenda now lives in Virginia Beach and I had promised her that if I were ever in her neck of the woods, no matter what I would stop and visit her. So I did. I called her while we were on the road towards VA. It was last minute, but I also knew she would move mountains for us to get together. We made arrangements to meet at a sports bar. Glenda and her husband had arrived first. Side note, we had not met each others "new" husbands. When I walked through the doors of the establishment I see this blur running towards me at full speed with arms wide open and I was tackled. It was fantastic. Glenda and I had not seen each other in years. It was the best hug and greeting ever. From that point on it felt like we had never skipped a beat. The only thing is that everyone calls her Glenny now. Sorry, I just can't get used to that, she will always be Glenda to me.

We introduced our husbands and then we took over a table and talked and talked and talked and talked. And to top off the evening, the bar had ALL YOU CAN EAT CRAB LEGS. Love love love. Tons of crab legs, tons of butter and lots of beer. Good friends and a good time makes food taste even better.

I asked Glenda about her paintings and she told me she hasn't painted in a long time. I will not share her personal issues without her permission. But I was heartbroken. I hope she starts soon. I have always wanted to hang one of her paintings in my home. We had a fantastic evening. It was hard to leave. But she has told me that she is coming to town in December to see a Carolina Panther's game. I am so excited. We will try to get tickets for the same game and go tailgate up a storm. To be honest they are really coming to see Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings, but I forgive her only because it's Brett and I understand.

The next morning my husband and I decided to walk around the beach. My husband said that the reputation of Virginia Beach in the past was that it was a bit dirty and a lot of loitering took place. I don't know about then, but it couldn't be further from the truth now. Virginia is for Lovers, and it is in full force at the beach. What a beautiful place. What was so surprising was all the art work along the boardwalk. The boardwalk is now made of cement though. It is so organized. There is a bike lane. That is so great of the city to think about sharing the boardwalk.

It was the perfect day for a walk, not to hot or scorching sun.

We knew our vacation was coming to an end and that we had to face reality soon, but at the same time we were happy that we were on our way home. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed.