Cherish the Ladies

For the second time in three years, I met my friend, Corinne, at the Barns of Wolf Trap for a "Cherish the Ladies" concert. "Cherish the Ladies" is an all women Irish group. (I LOVE their Christmas CD).

They played feet stomping jigs and take-you-away-to-far-off-places ballads. During some of the songs, we were treated to Irish dancing by world champion dancers. The whole barn thundered with the combined clapping, stamping, and clicking of dancers on stage and the audience cheering them on. During the ballads, the singer's voice floated hauntingly, as only an Irish voice can do.

But the best part of the night for me--besides having a rare evening to myself sans children--was getting to catch up with Corinne. We've known each other for almost a decade. We had our first babies the same year when we were all poor grad students in College Park, Maryland. We went to library story times together, ate yummy meals at each other's homes, commiserated and celebrated together, and even took an escape-the-world trip down to Assateague Island one wonderful weekend. For three years, we lived a just a few short miles away from each other.

Miles apart and years later, we're still friends. Our commiserating seems to have grown as our families have increased--but so has our sense of humor. And our celebrating is all the more sweet. As the singer came back on stage for the final encore, I realized I have so much to "cherish." Especially the dear friend sitting next to me.