a very johnston weekend

(From L to R: Emma, Kim, me, Katie, and Natalie.  Sadira and Olivia in the front)

I'm a big fan of telling the universe what you want.  Like, for example, if you want a new job or a new relationship, you need to put it out there that you're looking.  Whether this be through networking, getting "out there," talking to people in the field, being more social...you need to let the universe know that you're in need of something.

Even if it's just to yourself.  Sometimes all you need is a little personal acknowledgement.  Surely no one was ever offered the job of the dreams or found the love of their life by sitting home and staring at their floorboards.

Which may just be one of the reasons why I blog about things I'd like to accomplish.  It's a little public note that holds me (slightly) accountable for any goal that I've set, and let's the world know, "hey, this is what I want to do!"


And every once in a while, the universe will surprise you by answering your request.

That's exactly what happened to me Thursday night.

Let me explain.



So not too long ago I wrote my 100th post and detailed a list of summer goals Sadira and I hope to accomplish this year.  In lieu of another 30 list (since I still have so many things left to tackle) I thought this would be a fun little way to make sure that the summer doesn't pass us by too quickly, and that despite the fact that MOMMY does not get a summer off work, SADIRA does get a summer off school and FUN SHOULD BE HAD.

Some of the things in the list I knew we had plans to do...and some of them I had already done (just a mini-cheat, since they were all done since Sadira finished school).  But some of them had no solid plan yet, and I didn't even know if we were going to be able to tackle them this year or not.

But still, I put them on the list.

Ya know, to let the universe know I was interested. ;-)



So imagine my delight and surprise, when late Thursday night I get the following email from my friend Kim:

"Darling, 
I have a 3br beach house this weekend...Friends/owners have to go home (they are there now) because they have a sick pet.  If you would like to cross some items off your 100 list and you are free this weekend come join the girls and I in Rehoboth!!! :-)
Would love to see you and crack open a bottle of wine while getting eaten by beach 'squitos on a summer night!! XOXO
KJR"


{Blink Blink}

{Mouth drop wide open}

{Respond back as fast as the speed of light}


"Are you serious?? We'd absolutely LOVE to!!!!!
Shoot me a text tomorrow and we can try to coordinate...thank you so much for thinking of us!! XOXO"


Of course at this point it's midnight and I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement.  This weekend was the only weekend in July in which we didn't already have plans.  Truth is, we had NO plans this past weekend, and earlier in the day I had been thinking about some of the things on my list that we could get into.  But it was due to be so sweltering hot this weekend, that I didn't want to do any of the outdoor activities unless water was involved.

Essentially, it was the only weekend in the next six weekends in which I could actually ENJOY a little organized spontaneity...something that is so rare to get when you are an adult and parent, yet something my soul craves by my nature of me being me.

So as I'm lying in bed TRYING to fall asleep despite my excitement my brain starts going into overdrive...  

Okay so tomorrow after work, I'll come straight home and pack, then pick up Sadie from Mommom's--ooh! Is her beach towel clean? I better check...maybe I should throw some things in the washer now...I wonder if Kim needs me to bring linens? Hmmm, I should ask her...also should grab some batteries for Sadie's Leappad...I wonder if Kim needs me to bring beach chairs?  I should ask her...hmm, I hope Kim gets my email in time..I wonder if she's going to check.  Should I just text her in the morning?  Maybe she'll forget that she invited us? Oh geez, do I even still have her phone number in my phone?  Ugh...I hope she gets my message...  RELAX!  You're thinking too much, everything will work out...ACK! I'm so excited!!!!!

Because this is how my brain works, haha.


So much to my delight, the next day I received a text from Kim and we made our plans in the span of two text messages.  Hell to the yes.


Kismet!

Serendipity!


Just a quick word about my Kimmie Johnson (Robinson).  She is a friend of mine from when I worked at Phillips in my early twenties.  It was perhaps one of the most fun, carefree, and exhausting times in my life, because we were all post high school, some of us in college, working our buns off, and partying constantly.  We all worked together, lived together, traveled together, dated each other, loved together, fought together, vacationed together...there was this whole big group of us basically "finding ourselves" all at the same time in our lives.  It's a unique fraternity that I will forever look back at with fond memories.  And the beauty of this group, is that with MOST of it's members, we can go weeks, months, sometimes even years without seeing one another and when we do, we pick up where we left off as if no time had ever passed.  Our little PHP family.

So Kim fits that mold.  We keep up on Facebook, and may see each other once in awhile, but never as often as we like, or we should.  And after the fun that we had this weekend, I'm going to make a concerted effort to change that.  We live too close, our families love each other too much, and a better effort will be made.

Hear that, Universe???


I picked up Sadie from my grandmother's and told her I had a super surprise for her.  She was very excited when I revealed that we were headed to the beach, but not so happy when I told her that we had to get through a 2.5 hour car ride to get there.  At any rate, on Friday evening Sadira and I piled into Kim's car and joined her and her daughters Olivia and Natalie, and off to Rehoboth Beach we went!

The next day her sisters Katie and Emma arrived, along with Katie's boyfriend Danny.  Later in the weekend her brother Shawn also made an appearance with a few of his friends.


And now time for a quick word about Katie Johnston.  I have often heard from Kim that Katie had a certain affinity for Sadira.  Kim had mentioned that her sister was great with kids, and that she enjoyed seeing posts about Sadira on Facebook, but we had never actually met.  Now at the time Katie and I weren't Facebook friends, but Kim mentioned to me so often about how Katie loved seeing the little bits of Sadira that would pop up in her newsfeed when Kim would comment or "like" my posts, that I finally just friend requested Katie on my own.  Despite my hesitancy to "friend" anyone whom I do not know in real life, I knew Katie was safe and from everything I had heard about her, we'd be great friends in real life, if only we'd have the opportunity to meet.

Katie did not disappoint.

(Katie Johnston, the Mirjaf girls adore you.)

Not only did Sadie take to her like white on rice, but by the end of the weekend Sadie would refer to Katie as her "BFF" ("Hi, BFF!"  "Wanna come swimming with me, BFF?") and I started referring to them collectively as "Skatie" (or "Skadie," if you prefer).

There was so much Skatie love going on, that by the end of the weekend when we had to say bye and go out separate ways Sadie unleashed on me not one, but TWO crocodile-tear crying bawl-sessions whilst wailing, "I MISS MY BFF!"

Sigh.


So enough talking, here are the things we knocked off the summer list this weekend:

#46. Go to the ocean

 

 

 

#16. Build a sandcastle

 

#6 Have a water balloon fight

 But we also...

Wore lots of matching outfits by accident

 

Took naps on the beach

 

 

Posed like we were getting our picture taken by a Scopes guy

 

(Seriously, this is what she does when I say, "Sadie, smile!" I realize that I am in big trouble.)

Played and rode rides at Funland on the boardwalk

 

And made LOTS of new friends

 

Some additional things we did, but did not document, were drinking red wine (me and Kim), playing Farkel (learning to play Farkel for me, because I had never played before), playing Tiny Tower (Emma and Olivia), and learning to play Tiny Tower (Sadira), getting really brave in the ocean (Sadira), reminiscing about the old PHP days and catching each other up on the latest PHP gossip (me and Kim),eating ice cream for lunch and dinner, pizza from Grotto Pizza and chocolate from Candy Kitchen, and commenting on the fact that while the Mirjafs are die hard Ravens' fans and the Johnstons are died hard Steelers' fans, we can all live in perfect harmony. ;-)

Kinda fun, considering that just a week ago when I updated the look of this blog, I added a little extra to the "About Me" section of this blog in the upper right hand corner that says:

I love serendipity, nostalgia, traveling, good friends, traveling WITH good friends, coincidences, last minute plans, red wine in big glasses, doing things I've never done before (except things involving heights or spiders), screaming like a lunatic at Baltimore Ravens games, but most of all, I love my family and my Sadira G. Oh yeah, and chocolate. Can't forget chocolate.

Thanks, Universe, for hearing me.

And thanks Johnstons for a fabulous, fun-filled, much needed/enjoyed weekend away!  It's been ages since my family (beyond just Sadie and I) has gone on a true "family vacation," and I so miss those days, so I appreciate you letting us join in for a weekend with yours!  We had a ball, and Sadie already misses Katie to bits.

PS - Kim and Katie, we must make plans again soon.

PPS - Yes, these photos plus the rest will be up on Facebook soon. ;-)