Soft Places to Fall

I spent this past weekend with a group of eleven women of all different backgrounds. All of us have met as a bookclub for about six years and besides meeting monthly, we also have an annual weekend away. This year we were at a cottage tucked away on a beautiful lake in northern Michigan and the beauty of it was more than just asthetic.
Laying awake on Friday night I listened to the sounds of the crickets singing and the swishing of the trees as they swayed in the night breeze. A single loon cried out as it flew over the lake, it's lonesome voice echoing along the shores. It felt magical.
Away from the hum of the city and the "to do" lists, we shared our lives and talked about our hopes and dreams. Matters of the heart and matters of health were all fair game, and there was no shortage of advice and laughter. We all agreed that if our kids could see us they would stand aghast at the sheer intensity of our "dork factor". But oh what a sweet place it is, to be in the presence of such friends. To bare your soul, or share a tear, to dare to hope, and admit to fears. As I get older I know for sure, we all need a soft place to fall. And fall we will. As we continue on there will be more challenges and more tears, there will be losses. Such is the stuff of the journey we all have embarked upon, in this lifetime. No longer living with large sums of time in the bank, each year becomes sweeter, each friendship more valuable.
As we gathered up our things to leave the lake I helped my sister as she tried to tie the boat up a little tighter. It was tethered to the dock, but still floating away a bit. We found a long piece of rope and an anchor. Together we wrapped it around and around from the boat to the dock, securing it tighter. We just wanted it to stay put, to stay moored.
Would that we could do the same with this group. If only we could tie an invisible rope around us and hold on, letting no one float away!
Hold on friends. Enjoy the day, drink up and take huge gulps of this life we share and celebrate the wonder of it. There will also be storms ahead and we will face it all head on. Tossed about by the crashing waves we will weather it and though there may be trouble, together amidst our friendships, we will find soft places to fall.