Five Blonds in a Minivan and Other Blond Moments

As our minivan bound for Auburn, Washington sped down the freeway Friday afternoon, I noticed my four companions were all beautiful blonds (whether natural or not shall remain our little secret).  I do admire (and envy) the fact the the oldest member of our group retains her natural lovely hair color, and if there is any gray in it, I haven't noticed it. Whether or not I am blond has been debated in our house several times over the years, but my husband has assured me that I am blond on the inside, so there you go.

Trite it may be, but blonds definitely have a lot of fun. A women's ministry leadership conference was on Saturday's agenda, but Friday night belonged to us. In spite of the fact that I foolishly occupied the front passenger seat, therby becoming the navigator, we found ourselves in the Super Mall where bargains and fun abounded!

Saturday's conference gave us the opportunity to mingle with women from a variety of other churches across Oregon and Washington. My favorite session was "Fun with a Purpose".  The first thrilling direction was to find two or three other women with a purse similar to yours. There were more than 200 women there, and I only saw two other women with delightful purple purses.  What a privilege to discuss easy but fun women's activities your church has done with fellow purple purse possessers!  Some interesting statistics were given: 87% of people with a best friend at church are satisfied with their church. 74% who worship with a best friend say that faith is part of their every day life, compared to 34% of people without a best friend at church. Friendships draw us closer to each other and to God. I like it. (And I hope I got the stats right. They're close anyway!)

At the end of the day, they gave away some gifts. One of the categories was to the oldest participant. This happened to be a winsome 82-year-old lady who never stopped smiling. I would never have guessed she was that old. Imagine being that age and still actively involved in women's ministries leadership! She became my hero, along with the 80-year-old I read about last week who backpacked over 400 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail all the way through Oregon this summer. Very inspiring. I suspect both of these old gals were blond at some point in their lives.

The fun continued all the way home. On the trip up, we had stopped at a little convenience store in the middle of nowhere, and the sweet lonely "retired" clerk said she didn't have a public restroom but we could use her restroom anyway. (Tiniest restroom I've ever seen that wasn't in an RV!) My fellow travelers were very friendly and conversed with the clerk awhile, and she insisted on giving us all a free donut as we purchased beverages. She was shocked that I didn't want a FREE donut and I kinda feel bad that I didn't just take it. A nameless member of our party wrapped hers in a napkin and "lost" it. (Perhaps when she saw a fellow traveller wrap her gum in a tissue and drop it into the napkin she lost her desire for it?!) On Saturday, she stayed to visit a friend and catch a train home...and we located the "lost" donut on the back seat. I had to send her a picture.

Strangely enough, when my husband and I travel together, we have never stopped at an outlet mall for a restroom break. Our minivan full of women sure did! We tried on a bunch of shoes and nearly spent eternity in a Christian bookstore before we finally found our way back to the car.  I strutted around the shoe store on some fabulous shoes for awhile. Ok, so maybe teetered more accurately describes my gait. (Staggered even comes to mind.) I coveted them, and had I been 30 years younger, they would have gone home with me. I contented myself with taking a few pictures of them.

The next morning at church, I showed the picture to another blond friend of mine. I am a very honest person, but I was suddenly overcome with an irresistible desire to lie. Shamefully, I gave in and said. 'Look at these awesome shoes I bought yesterday!" She and her college-age daughter both agreed they were very cute, and her daughter asked what I would wear them with. I said I would shop for a hot pink dress and some orange leggings. She tactfully suggested they would look good with jeans. Then I had to laugh and scold them for believing me and for not telling me I would look ridiculous in those shoes!

After church, I showed another friend the picture of my "new" shoes. She too agreed they were very cute and asked what I would wear them with. I said jeans. She said, "Well, you do realize they're pretty trampy looking, don't you?" Yay for honest friends! She is brunette!

I was disappointed that my blond bff wasn't at church, but later that afternoon I texted her the picture of my "new" shoes, eager to hear her response. After saying "You are stylin'," she sweetly added, "Be careful when you fall...at our age, bones break a lot easier!"  I just love her wit and kindness!

Now it's Monday and I'm back in the real world, dealing with work and life and loss. I'm so thankful that I was able to have such a fun and encouraging weekend, and that I am blessed with so many blond friends (and brunette ones too. Oh, and the occasional red and silver-haired ones as well!) I love it that my involvement in women's ministries has given me the opportunity to develop friendships with talented, fun people who I otherwise wouldn't have gone beyond "Hi, how are ya!" I just wish I had more time to hang out with my friends, both new and old. Maybe when I'm 82 we can all hike the Pacific Crest Trail together......