Sometimes, we are lucky enough to meet our soul mates. I'm not talking about romance here... No, a soul mate: someone who understands you. A kindred spirit in this wild world.
It's an awfully big planet, and we can easily forget that there are other people who "get it". Since coming to Hive, I have been amazed at how much more understood I feel here. As if I had been speaking gibberish in real life for many years, suddenly I found a translator!
I had only been here for a few weeks, when I met an amazing friend. She caught me totally off guard! It all started with a cup of dastardly green beverage, and a very dissatisfied
. The rest came tumbling after!
Becoming friends was easy, we are both Midwest gals with fresh but traditional values, who share a lot of the same physical ailments. Sometimes, we just celebrate that we share some odd problem, the issue itself eased in understanding. Living with chronic pain is a constant uphill battle, it is amazing to meet people who decide to put their best face forward despite that!
Indeed, a few people come to mind in that category, who I am ever grateful to Hive for putting me in touch with! As I got to know Snook, I found a friend who was honest, kind, and damn funny!
Then, one day I read a post of hers about being worn out, that resonated deeply with me. This wasn't anything new between us at this point, but this time I saw an opportunity.
says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .β
β C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
I love being a mom, I really do. 24/7 being a mom isn't good for anyone though, and I needed to reconnect to myself after a few solid years of it. Maybe I could find a way to ease Snook's stress and my own in one fell swoop!
I asked if she'd want a visitor, and we were looking at flights together a few minutes later π! Yay, I could afford a few different flights! Now, what would my husband say??
It's funny to think on it, but my husband didn't hesitate about me wanting to visit an "internet" friend. Nah, he knew who Snook was, and only concerned himself with getting the time off of work (sweet man)! Seven weeks later, I was in Snook-City, the land of a different lake!
I've really never seen any of the great lakes besides Erie, so I casually mentioned that I'd like to see another, if it wasn't annoying. Snook says her husband was fine with driving us down there because I was a visitor, but the truth is that he is just crazy about her! Well, who wouldn't be?
It was so sweet that Snook prioritized that for me, truly the lake was quite different! It was thoughtful of Mr.Snook to drive too, and really he was just a blast to talk to whenever he was around as well! I really appreciated the adventure, it was even nicer because I was very well rested!
We took a lot of naps togetherβ not physically, but simultaneously π€£! It reminded me of pre-school nap time, where everyone just understood that an afternoon nap was part of the day. We would color and talk about our lives, laughing at one point that perhaps we are related (we have so many oddball things in common). Then we'd get all tuckered out, and set our coloring implements aside.
Ah! The careless abandon and bliss of an afternoon nap, no force in the world intent on stopping you! I had forgotten how nice that is, now I will forget again so I don't miss it too much! I'll be back naps, once the kids are a wee bit older...
Yes, Snook and I were both so nervous to meet a friend from the internet for the first time, that we fell asleep shortly after meeting in person π€£! We dodged each other in our nap intervals for the next like... 18 hours! Bahahahah
When we were finally awake at the same time, we shared some amazing Colombian coffee, which her son brought her from home when he last visited! This was seriously the best coffee ever!
We ordered pizza and talked about things ranging from spirituality to makeup LOL! I confessed that I really don't know how to do very much with my hair, and only learned how to do eyelashes because of her. "Oh?" Snook said, there was inspiration brewing in her eyes!
I have my repertoire of 5 hairstyles and 3 make-up looks for when I'm feeling saucy, but Snook wanted to help me find something else I might like β€οΈ. When I went to sleep, she got to searching, and found a few styles she wanted to try!
I borrowed that picture from her post linked above, we both agreed it was one of our favorites π
We had intended to do a makeup look at the same time... I think? Who knows, we just had so much fun gabbing that we wore ourselves out! It was late before we knew it.
I wanted to help with many small projects while I was there, but as it turned out my body wanted me to rest. With Snook being of the same mind, I was outnumbered, and that was just fine. π I caught up on what felt like a year's worth of rest!
We got back to the Makeup the next day. Snook legit pulled out a color wheel, and 5 palettes to find the right color combination, it was magic. The way she colors is the way she approaches makeup!
She talked to me about creating dimension with highlights and shadows, and I could watch her doing that on my eyelids! Color science, neat-o! I forgot to get a before of snook, but here is our after photo together π
I tried to do that anime thing where you puff your cheeks out, and that made Snook crack up π
Between goofing off, learning more about each other, and playing around with girly stuff, the weekend flew by! Before I knew it, it was Monday morning; time to head back to Oh-hi-oh.
I think by the time we were driving to the airport we were both at 10% battery life, it isn't that we didn't have a great time together, we both just get worn out. It was nice not to have to explain that, to a lot of people I seem moody or unhappy at times. I'm not, I'm just trying to hold on.
My health has been getting worse, and the medical industry is awful. This has left me taking 6 daily meds, and I had forgotten half of them. Honestly, I always want to drop meds, and I went home and kept not taking them. I'm not sure that all the drugs aren't just making me worse.
I never thought of Snook as an internet friend, just a friend, I couldn't resist the funny title though!
There was a point on my way there that I said, well... She could secretly be a terrible person who human traffics or something. Then I laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more. I knew I was going to a safe place, to spend time with a dear friend. My gut told me so!
Thankfully, my gut instinct is rarely wrong, and neither is Snook's. We relaxed like sisters, eating and talking about things we've experienced. We colored and giggled a bunch. We missed
's presence, but felt relieved she would rest before a big trip (Then life had other thoughts, as mid California weather went haywire)!
I got home, and promptly got sick, lel. I've been meaning to write this post for several days, or what would have been a handful of posts truthfully, if I hadn't lollygagged so long!
Spending 5 days with a friend refreshed my mind, I find that despite being under the weather, I came back ready to do the things. The crazy comfy bed she made up for me helped me snore out some body stressors, and her lovely company was a desperately needed reprise from chaos!
On the off chance anyone is eagerly awaiting my western, I'm finally getting back to editing it today.
My mind is refocusing, and I'm floating in gratitude π. It is hard to believe another weekend is on the horizon here already! I hope everyone enjoys it, and finds understanding and relaxation as I have. Your people are out there, you just have to find them!ππ€
