Refreshing weekend

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful. I left after class on Friday and drove to NearbyState to see BestFriend! Because she now lives Far, Far Away, neither of us knew when we'd see the other next. (I'm in the process of trying to figure out possible dates to use an airline voucher I have.) So ... being able to see her (and her husband, her brother, and another friend of theirs in the area) was so very rewarding.

Sometimes I forget how well we know one another (she knows my guilty secret: I shave the area between my eyebrows because it's much easier to shave it than pluck out those hairs) ... and I was with her when she got the lovely stationary which she's used in her recent correspondence. We shared GirlTime (lots of good conversation that's more fun in person than over the phone), cookie dough, laughter, many hugs, pictures (mine from Europe, hers of her new apartment), shopping, and inside jokes. The only thing missing was The Nanny on DVD. (I didn't think to bring it, but I most certainly will remember it when I fly out to visit them.)

Seeing her was so absolutely wonderful. It didn't feel like the almost 3 months it had been since we'd actually seen each other in person.
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Also on my trip, I visited Brother who's now attending college not far from where BestFriend used to live. Even though he's a music major, he didn't have a metronome. So ... after lunch, we visited a music store and I had to get one for him. (Conveniently for him, his birthday is coming up ... so ... I made that my gift to him. Conveniently for me, I got a discount because I told them I'm a music teacher. Yay!) Then we cruised around the nearby city (where I'd never been) before enjoying dinner out. When I left, I was struggling to keep from crying.

"I don't know why I'm like this," I told him as I had to hug him one more time.

"It's because you loooove me," he teased me.

Smiling though still fighting back tears, I playfully remarked, "Yeah, I guess I do, you nerd."

Then I sobbed in the car as I drove back to BestFriend's house. I'm still baffled as to why my emotions caught up to me so swiftly. (It's not the hormonal fluctuation part of the month.) Maybe he's right; maybe it is just because I love my brother.
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As I drove back to GradSchool, I stopped near CoolCity to spend a few hours with another friend from UGSchool ... Pleasant to see her too.

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Today could have been a very stressful day ... but it turned out very well ... and I'm pretty content with how everything seems to be working out. (It helps that I sang a lot today = singing apparently releases endorphins or other happy hormones!) I suppose it also helps that ... it looks as though I'm developing a regular correspondence (via email) with two of the cute boys I met in Europe this summer. *grin* If only they didn't live on the other side of the ocean ...