Old Friends. And Surviving Vs. Thriving

Me and Kelly at my 30th birthday party, where Lily was only a cluster of cells residing in my abdomen



Last night was interesting. I found myself at a cozy bar off Lexington Avenue with Anne, Jeff and John, three of my compadres from my looooong ago corporate-slave days. When the four of us used to work together, things wuz different, man. Anne and I were newly married, Jeff and John were swingin'ly single, and nobody had any babies. Now three of us four have kids, and it looks like John is well on his way (if his Greek heiress turns out to be as fabulous as she sounds). So many changes. And yet...I'm still the same old Kristin.

Drinking a couple glasses of wine and kicking back with people who knew me in a past life was good for me. I've been feeling lately like a sore that just won't scab over because I can't stop picking it. But nobody could tell that, thank goodness. My friends even commented that I looked lovely. Well, I WAS having a hot day.

Jeff, of course, got the real story because he ended up sitting next to me and after a cabernet and a half, I was talking up a blue streak. Little backstory on Jeff: he's married to my friend Kelly, who I have known since I was...six? Kelly and her sister would come over and rollerskate with me and my sister in my basement while our parents hung out together upstairs drinkin scotch and listening to my dad's Eagles albums.

Kelly and Jeff met at a Halloween party of mine when I lived in Brooklyn. Kelly wore a red devil outfit and she looked smokin. But I know she was trying like hell to hide her discomfort and irritation that nobody else wore a fucking costume. I admired her for being so ballsy and not giving a shit. It never, ever occurred to me that she and Jeff would hit it off though; Kelly is a vegan yoga instructor who was living in the East Village. Jeff is a Republican who does something with money (I never really understood it, I'm right-brained), living on the Upper East Side. So imagine my happy surprise when Kelly called me the morning after the party, to tell me that Jeff was still in her bed. The rest, as they say, is history. They are married with an adoreable 2 year old boy and a girl on the way. And they are one of my favorite couples. One of the rare pairs where hanging out with them, you feel like you're being drawn in instead of feeling like a third wheel.

Jeff has this older-brotherly way with me; he knows me and understands the Kristin-things I do and listens and doesn't judge. At least not to my face. He also knows the story with my marriage. So, he listened. I was grateful. I've been a total crotch over the last few days and I know I need to get over it. Having someone really listen and pay attention helps.

Today I got a nice email from John saying that I seemed not only to be surviving, but thriving. I need to give this some serious thought. Lately I have been really freakin glass-half-empty. I am actually thriving, damnit. Things are actually pretty freaking ok.

So, onward, onward! I'm taking the Amtrak train today with Lil to Washington DC. What a gorgeous day to see the East Coast from a train! Everything looks better from a train.