From JuJu with Love

I came to New Jersey for a Michigan football game. I also came with a heart that had been working overtime worrying about my sled dog.

After two sleepless nights, I needed this weekend with my friends. I just didn’t realize how quickly the laughter would begin.

I hadn’t even left Detroit yet.

While I was sitting at the gate, Delta offered $500 for two people to give up their seats. I was texting Judy and mentioned it.

Her response was immediate and emphatic. Absolutely not. Get on that plane. She would fly to Detroit and get me herself if she had to. They couldn’t wait to see me.

The actual language was a little saltier, but this is a daytime blog.

Five minutes later, she texted to ask what time my flight left on Sunday.

“Are you already trying to get rid of me before I even arrive?”

They were coordinating who would take me back to the airport. But the timing was perfect.

Judy, Helene and Nanette picked me up, and the next laugh happened before I could get into the car. Judy drives a Tesla. Apparently, opening a car door now requires skills I do not possess. Judy had to open the door for me, as any good driver would do.

Then we went to the diner. After dinner, I couldn’t figure out how to get OUT of the car, either.

Princess Julie had arrived. She just needed help entering and exiting her carriage.

At Judy’s house, another welcome was waiting: little slippers she had personalized for each of us, lined up and ready to wear. Mine had my name and colorful balloons. Judy lives on the beach and doesn’t want outdoor shoes worn inside. Leave it to her to turn a house rule into an adorable gift.

I brought a few hostess gifts of my own, including a little Michigan bowl filled with Kit Kats (an inside joke from our trip to Japan) and a Michigan Mom sweatshirt. The bowl got a laugh. The sweatshirt presented an opportunity to influence the weekend’s wardrobe. More on that later.

I got into bed at 12:30, took a sleeping pill and woke up at 7:15. Almost seven hours of sleep. After the previous two nights, that alone felt like a gift.

Then I looked outside. Peach-and-gold clouds over the water, a beach below and a ferry passing by. I lay there texting Janet and Shoshana, who were happy I had finally slept. Shoshana was already looking forward to reading about the weekend.

No pressure.

The weekend had just begun, and it was already exactly what my heart needed.

Friday started with brunch and a walk on the beach around Judy’s house. We went sightseeing along the Jersey shore, stopped for ice cream in the middle of the afternoon and breathed in that wonderful sea air.

Our friends arrived from Connecticut, and we settled in at Judy’s with appetizers and plenty of catching up. We spent the day laughing about everything and nothing.

Later, we drove to Long Branch, walked the boardwalk and rode the carousel. Yes, the carousel. The pictures tell you how much we enjoyed that.

We had a wonderful oceanfront dinner at Rooney’s, then went back to Judy’s for coffee and dessert to celebrate Michele’s birthday.

From brunch to birthday candles, they kept me distracted and smiling all day long. My travel friends are good for my soul.

And everyone seems to know the hazards of spending a weekend with a blogger. “This is going to show up in the blog, isn’t it?” has become a familiar question.

Well. Here we are.

Saturday brought another kind of reunion. Judy, Nanette and I headed to Rutgers to meet my college roommate Jean and her husband Colin, otherwise known as our fifth roommate. And Jean and Colin’s adult kids joined us too. We also met up with Mark and his husband Jim. Jean, Colin and I met Mark in the dorm freshman year.

There is something wonderful about bringing friends from different parts of your life together. Today, my college friends and my travel friends got to meet, and I got to share my Michigan passion with Judy and Nanette.

And the wardrobe update? Judy wore the Michigan Mom sweatshirt. She paired it with a Rutgers hat, so apparently there were limits to my influence. Nanette wore her Michigan Friend shirt. I considered this excellent progress.

We tailgated with my college friends in beautiful sunshine, surrounded by fall color and plenty of maize and blue. Then we went into the stadium to cheer on my Wolverines.

And we won!

Good friends, beautiful sunshine and Michigan football. It doesn’t get much better than that.

A couple of days earlier, I was exhausted and worried about my girl. This weekend has given me so many chances to laugh, catch my breath and enjoy the people I love spending time with.

From a Tesla door I couldn’t open to a carousel ride and a Michigan win, I have been smiling my way through New Jersey.

My heart is so full.

Go Blue. And thank goodness for good friends.

From Juju with love 💙💛