Rock and Roll Girls

On the left is the Goddess of the East Coast; on the right is the Goddess of the West Coast. My cousin Lysa and I "inherited" these titles from our mothers, who resided on opposite coasts (California and New York) as do Lysa and I (Washington and New York). We spent a lot of time together as children before she and her brothers moved with her mother to San Diego. And we've gotten to spend a good deal of time together in the last 20 years, alternating visits between both coasts, although never as much time as we would like.

Our most recent get-together actually occurred in California, where we met to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday (yeah, I'm talkin' about you Dan the Man), to spend time with family, and to enjoy some "girl time" with each other, which included a trip to L.A.'s Rodeo Drive - and let me say I thought we both exercised ADMIRABLE restraint considering the many temptations in Versace and Valentino and Vuitton. We shopped, we laughed, we downed a few cocktails, we reassured each other that we were NOT bad mothers for spending Mother's Day with each other instead of with our childredn, we sang (badly) out loud to Rush while driving down the coast, we enjoyed our family, and we marveled at how alike we are in so many ways despite not growing up together (note the similarity of our outfits in the picture - NOT planned).

I'm not sure I can adequately convey what Lysa has meant to my life. She is my best friend. She gets my tears first and she gets my triumphs first. She is an amazing mother to three bright, beautiful, and busy boys (one of whom is my godson). She is gorgeous and fun; passionate and smart; competitive and adventurous; and she always seems to know the right thing to say when I am at my lowest point. She can hit a softball a mile, can Zumba with the best of them, can make even MY hair look good, and can juggle 3 jobs seemingly effortlessly. She is at the center of many of my favorite memories ("My name is Tiny. I work at the prison.") and I look forward to her being at the center of many more (one word Ly - Galaganza!).

Shout outs this week to some other special women - Patti, Mary, Patty and Jackie (for taking me out for a wonderful birthday celebration in NYC - yep, I made it to 51!); Bonnie, my sister (for making me smile with ten little rubber ducks); and Thea and Sheryl (for making sure I got the birthday cake I've been craving since last year).

Blessings and Love to All.