This year marks our twenty-ninth year of making this trip. When we began, we lived in the same small, isolated town and each had one or more children under eight years old. In fact, Karen and I made the first trip alone, going down and back in one very long day. BJ came with us the following year when we extended the trip to include an overnight stay in a shared motel room. We figured out which stores opened earliest every morning as places to start and shopped at Toys-R-Us last because it was open until midnight. In all the years since, I have only missed twice and one of those times was not worth it. When I dutifully decided on my own to stay home to save money one year, I soon learned that the trip with these friends was a Christmas gift to myself that I couldn’t afford to do without.
Our annual trip now begins at noon on Thursday and extends through Sunday evening when we dawdle in to our respective homes as late as possible. Together we have survived moving away from each other, raising our kids, empty nest syndrome, changing jobs, retirement, family illnesses, deaths, caregiving, and cancer. Nothing can ever replace the memories that bind us to one another; the laughter, tears and craziness. Hair dying in our underwear in the motel bathroom, a naked man in the hot tub that Karen never saw, BJ riding in my Toys-R-Us cart, being serenaded over my chimichanga, getting a ride from BJ on an unattended hand cart, late night stops for ice cream and Megabucks tickets at Albertsons, wearing matching bawdy decorations in our hair that often jangle, sparkle, or bob so that BJ can find us in the stores, and making newcomers to the group park the car, carry packages, and run our coats and packages to the car periodically are just a few of the reasons that I hold these friends and our time together so dear. And I haven’t even mentioned the amount of shrimp we can put away at an all-you-can-eat special, or the tears I have shed from long bouts of uncontrolled laughter, or BJ’s amazing ability to milk a great deal out of any proprietor.
No, this trip is about more than just shopping, although I would never admit that out loud. It is about female solidarity, friendship, and fun and I am really glad that my daughters have been able to be part of it. I wish this simple but pure joy for all of our children and I hope that they carry it on after we are gone.
So I wish you all a great weekend, wherever you are, and I pray for good roads and lots of laughter for us all. Sarah will be on a similar trip of her own with friends this year, Jen is off to New Zealand (so watch her blog, Traveling Red, for updates and pictures), and Jeremy is busy in NYC, but Danielle will be joining us for the first time... I wonder if she remembers the rule about carrying our bags?
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