Sniffles, music, and girlfriends.

For all of you who've been wondering where I've been, I'm here, but I've been down with a nasty, icky virus that makes me cough and sneeze and not be able to talk. I did go to the doctor after four days, hoping for some magic pills, but alas all I got was a message that it would take two to three weeks to go away. And now it's two weeks and I can see some improvement, so apparently the doctor was right.

So I've been working, of course, and then coming home to crash. Ten days in a row without going out, except to work. Yow. This past weekend, I did go to UCLA to see Dan Zanes in concert with my daughter and the grandkids and that was really wonderful. How to describe Dan Zanes? A guy raised in the 60s with an obvious desire to bring people together through music, his concert moved both children and their parents to sing and dance and have a great time. (That's a pic of the happy grandchildren before the concert.) And then the kids stayed over that night, and they were delightful. As usual. Lucky me.

I did have dinner Friday night and last night with two different girlfriends. Friday night, I met a new friend, a woman who works in another doctor's office. We've talked for years on the phone about work issues and lately been sharing some personal things, enough to realize that we have a lot in common and might enjoy being friends. And sure enough, she was a delight and enough like me in so many ways that it was both strange and wonderful. She's a spunky woman, lived her life her own way, from leaving home as a teenager, travelling to work in Japan, and staying with the same man for thirty-eight years. She's a Buddhist and a spiritual healer who teaches yoga to teens in jail, obviously a strong woman but still having some of the same feelings as I do, like feeling overwhelmed at work. It's always touching and comforting to meet others who share similar angst, like just knowing each other makes us more able to cope with our daily struggles. And sometimes she calls me at work just to tell me she's thinking of me or to sing a few bars of a silly song. I feel stronger and more alive just with one evening with her and look forward to getting to know her better. Again, lucky me.

And last night, I was invited out to eat with my friend Kathy, her new boyfriend, and her mom. Kathy is a woman who is hugely kind and generous, who takes care of her aging mom, runs her own business, and has the most beautiful home in Baja. She's been wanting to meet a great guy for a long time, with no success. But she's taken the past year or so to confront some of her demons, do some healing work with a therapist, and continue to be a very dear friend to me. And just like that, a friend introduced her to a guy who really does seem like a gift, a guy who seems like he was made for her, a guy who obviously adores her, and I'm amazed that this could happen. Delighted for her, no question, but amazed that there could be a guy, a very nice guy, who has been there all along and now, just when she is healthy and ready and free of baggage, he appears at her side. He was so much fun during dinner, just made me laugh the whole time, yet he was kind to Kathy's mom, obviously a loving father, and I feel like he's been our friend for years. I'd say that Kathy is lucky, but she dearly deserves such a great guy to love her. Lucky me to know them both.

So I haven't done much in the past few weeks, but I feel richer than ever, especially with making a new woman friend and being part of Kathy's new life, and I feel blessed. Very lucky me.