The Power Girls Day Out

The Power Girl's Day Out!

What a cool day we had today!

Last Monday, I went to my friend, Lois’, house and helped her set up a blog and did some website work for her and in the meantime, since I had to register her for an email address, I learned that her birthday was that following Thursday. Pocketing this information quietly and sneakily into my memory banks, I just didn’t say much, but kept a secret smile on my face for the next couple of days.

Upon returning home, my little devilish horns came out and I alerted our other two close gal pals, Vera and Sally, that Lois’ birthday was Thursday, what should we do about it? Once the news was out, we started planning a big surprise for her for that following Saturday.. but wait! We should probably find out what Lois was actually DOING that Saturday, April 1st, which would make or break our little surprise.

Putting Vera and Sally into a sort of ‘holding pattern’ I told them I’d get back with them. Calling Lois, I did find out that after her usual, successful yard sailing morning, she was ‘at her leisure’ for the rest of the afternoon.. ‘why,’ she asked? ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘Vera and Sally wanted to know if we all wanted to trek to Sally’s and have a Power Girls Afternoon of lunch and chatter!’ Lois said to count her in! Whoo-hoo! The sneaky stage was set!

Getting back with Vera and Sally, we quietly and with determination set the stage for a day of surprises!

Saturday in Florida dawned bright, warm and beautiful. Lois had decided to come around 12:30 and pick me up first, then drive across town to gather up Vera and then we’d pick up lunch and head out to Sally’s house. Sally lives in what used to be ‘the country’ part of Lee County.. now she’s surrounded by new highway and home building and we never get to her house the same way because of all the construction.

As we drove out we were just chattering away, like girl friends do, when I looked up and said, “Turn right HERE!!!!!” So, being the quick and great driver that she is, Lois wrenched the wheel and made the turn onto a sort of service road that would take us to Sally’s little house. Since we’d stopped at The Colonel’s for chicken and sodas, the sodas went air-borne and THANKFULLY.. and with much surprise .. the lids stayed on and there was no great crash and splash with the turn.. the Universe was totally looking out for us today!

But I digress.. we got to Sally’s house and said hello to her husband, who decided that being scarce was the better part of valor.. so we didn’t see him again as he quietly made his way to the computer room and stayed there quietly.. (we were teasing him about getting into a thong and being a Chippendale dancer, because we’d all brought dollar bills! LOL.. but alas, it was not to be.. ) I’m sure we heard a sigh of relief when he was creeping quietly and unobserved into the other room and we were distracted by Sally bringing out Lois’ birthday cake.

About my birthday card to Lois .. I stopped at a grocery store that was closing and saw just the card.. checking my watch.. grabbed the card and an envelope.. it was only today that I found that the card was about an inch larger than the envelope.. but she loved the card anyway and got a nice envelope that she can use .. for something .. Thank heaven I’m cute.. LOL

Anyway, after the cake we were having a wonderful conversation when my cell phone rang. It was my beautiful daughter, Anjelica, who is in the Orlando area and an Athletic Trainer. And uttered horrific words.. “MOM!!!!! I just had a horrible accident.. I hit someone and my car insurance lapsed! What should I DO???”

Lois, who was sitting across from me said I went white as a sheet .. with holes for my eyes and my mouth was a big O. Suddenly all four of us were in ‘protect the kid’ mode. We were all thinking what she needed to do next.. how to protect her from a law suit making her pay someone for the rest of her life, or worse! Four executives, educated, maternal, with protective and cunning minds trying to plan instantly what to do to save our Universal baby girl.

And then came the laughter. “APRIL FOOLS!!” And then we four executives, educated, maternal, protective mamas got pissed!!!!! I just passed the phone to each.. after we determined that she was truly safe, had her insurance paid up and hadn’t wrecked the car, we each told her that paybacks were just waiting to happen! There was a lot of mentioning of spankings and butt kicking.. (now remember, Lois just turned 70, Vera is 67, Sally is 61 and I will be turning 57 this August). I passed the phone to each of the others, in turn, and all spoke to her threatening reciprocation with the possibility of us all working-out to practice getting our legs high enough to kick her cute little tushey! The little wench-lette was still laughing uproariously. (We’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too! Remember, old and cunning outwits young and cute, every day!!!)

The thought of her being in trouble scared each of us. At that point, it was necessary to rejuvenate ourselves with another small piece of cake and the fanning of our hot, ‘coming off a huge fright’ faces with our napkins in fear for her, which quickly turned to ‘why that little pest!’, totally wore us out.

Soon after, with much relieved laughter, gratefulness of such a wonderful day of camaraderie, fine food and the need for Lois to get back to her place for a couple of rounds of Texas Hold Em with her park friends, broke up our fabulous afternoon.

Vera, Lois and I hugged and kissed Sally goodbye, and promptly got lost on our way back to the highway at the front of her house and waved all three times we passed her house trying to get back on the road .. and finally were on our way. We then dropped off a still-chuckling Vera, who began planning paybacks for the chicklette. Then Lois dropped me off. Hugs and kisses all around.

What a fabulous day with some of the most wonderful women on the planet. We’re planning another Power Girls Day Out Saturday afternoon again soon in the future.. we won’t tell my daughter.. we need it to be a quiet, non-stressful time to laugh and have lunch and yammer-on afternoon.

Bekki Shanklin, copyright 2006, from her “Thinking All The Time” series.