Lovin' on Featherplume

Last night Featherplume and I FINALLY had a girls night out. We met in Omaha for a yummy dinner and mood lighting. When we were in Chicago, we tried to get together with Buttercup at least once a month for girl talk. It was hard to figure out our schedules and what would work best--especially after Buttercup moved to a different part of town that seemed so very far away. It can be a huge pain in the a$$ to get from Point A to Point B in Chicago. Not so much in Iowa.

Anyway, Featherplume and I discussed how we used to be bursting at the seams with gossip when we saw one another. We always had stories from work, complaints about corporate life, and one relationship tale or another. But last night, we were both so calm. I remembered noticing that after Featherplume got married, some strange sort of peace came over her. She seemed so happy, and she still is. Marriage to Egg was the perfect choice for her. And now it's happened again--becoming a mother to Baby Plume has brought a whole new level of "solidness" to her. She was showing me some pictures, and the waitress asked who the baby was. "She's mine," said Featherplume, "Four months old." This moment was a little shocking. Featherplume is actually a MOTHER? Yes. Yes, she is. And a damn good one.

It was an uneventful dinner. No stress. No drama. No checking our cell phones to find out where our men were. Egg was at home with Baby Plume. Marshall was at work. We didn't have a care in the world except for our delicious food and just spending a little time together. When I lived in Chicago, I always felt this sense of urgency when we had girls night. We had very little time to get out all of our thoughts, advice, and questions. Now? Yes, we still have work and random chaos, but it's strange. I felt as if I were watching us from above the table. Two women, who have known each other since college, watched each other grow, and actually grown together. Sure, we have different lives, but unlike some of my girlfriends over the years, we haven't grow apart. We seem to be on parallel tracks that compliment each other nicely.

As we were leaving, I said something about how we used to try so hard to get together in Chicago, but it was difficult to find time. Featherplume said, "Chicago seems so long ago." She looked wistfully up at the sky, trying to find Chicago in her memories. There was a time when I thought Featherplume would live in Chicago forever. I also thought this about myself. But here we are, creating new lives back home with our families--and new family members. After a lifetime of living in the future, I never will again. Because you truly never know what the future might bring.