Retreat at the Rockin’ R

It’s been almost one month since our Girls Retreat. We only get to do it once a year, schedules permitting, but I could do it more often. I never get tired of the love and the laughs.

This was a first. First time ever for girls only at the Rockin’ R. Peace, quiet, and countryside visible outside every window. It was bitterly cold for late March but we didn’t care – we weren’t there for outdoor activities.

We unloaded our bags, games and food – fave snacks mostly, the things we don’t let ourselves eat in our normal world, and a few ‘real meal’ items as well. One sister brought meatballs, oatmeal, grits and bread; another brought her delicious tuna salad, veggies and some fruit. I brought yogurt, fruit, popcorn and my own contribution to the annual staples: Ruffles and Green Onion Dip, M&Ms. Marie brought the red hots. Mom brought nuts and snacks. We were set.

Actually, it was Mom and Marie who got set against Tracy and I in a raunchy game of Canasta. In our family we play to win, and little sister and I kicked some serious butt. Of course Marie won practically everything else – Phase 10, Crown 5, Quirkle, and sequence. Along with Mom, who also won Farkle in the very last round in a game which I felt sure I had sewn up. Wrong. Spades was also a triumph for Tracy and I. And I learned something about my youngest sibling – she is ruthless at the card game of Hell. Just like me! Who knew? Everyone else in the family, apparently. But I had already left home for college when she was old enough to play that game. Wow, I barely beat her and was scared I wouldn’t. But my record so far is untarnished. Might be the last year I can say that.

With Mom and her daughters there is never a lack of conversation. Nor a lull. Nor a dull moment. We talk about everything and nothing. Life, work, faith, church, our various health issues (this topic takes more time than it used to), children, grandchildren, ancestors, extended family members both living and deceased, vacations, ex- in-laws, news, hopes and dreams. But not politics – this is a retreat from real life, not an engagement with it.

I guess my favorite part still and always is how much we laugh. Goodness, we are a very funny group of people. Just ask us, we’ll tell you. Some of us laugh loud, some of laugh silently but forever, all of us have tears flowing because of the amount of laughter. I can’t disclose (or remember) everything we laughed about, but there are two comments that were particularly noteworthy. During our canasta game my partner and I got pretty cocky (with good reason) and at one point Tracy looked at mom and said “Bid, and set!” Mom gave her a steely-eyed look, firm as a sheriff in an old western facing the bad guy in town, and drawled, “I’m quaking in my boots.” It was awesome.

Then there was Marie. She has uttered so many hysterical Marie-isms that it is hard to remember them all and quote the best ones, but this one is up there. She didn’t really want it to leave the retreat so of course I’m including it in my blog. She was arranging her cards, during spades I think, and remarked that just the other day she was telling someone…. She paused. “Who was I talking to?” Longer pause. Then the light bulb went off in her head and she smiled. Without thinking she blurted out, “It was me! I said it to myself!” We laughed so hard I don’t know how long it was before we were able to resume our game. And for the rest of the weekend we reminded each other not to forget to tell ourselves things.

I proved that I can still stay up past midnight, 12:30 a.m. to be exact. This after a ‘night on the town’ in Ben Wheeler, where we arrived unprepared for the fact that the restaurant we wanted had been booked solid since 4 that afternoon and the only other one in town, across the street, had one table when we showed up. How could we have missed the fact that it was The Forge’s annual motorized barstool races and everyone from the locals to biker groups was in town. Only time in my life I’ve had to look for a parking space in that town – there is only one street, and only two or three blocks at that. But we had our adventure, heard some good but VERY LOUD blues music, then headed back to the Rockin R for more games.

I always sleep good in the country, even if I stay up late. Tracy and I slept in the main room, choosing to wake to the sun streaming through the many windows and the view of cows with their nursing calves just outside the fence around the house. Horses in the distance, and eventually, the donkeys which we fed with apples cut in half. They love to eat out of your hand.

We did brave the wind and cold for a bit Saturday afternoon to take a partial tour of the property, driving close to the big lake but not too close because of all the recent rains. It had more water in it than I’ve ever seen, and probably ever in its history. Initially we thought we’d take one of the ranch vehicles, but the old mail truck had no battery because it was in the “hog mobile” (as Marie called it), which was charging but not charged, and we didn’t know how to or want to start up the tractor. So we piled into Marie’s brand new gorgeous Ford pickup, riding in style which is the way I like to travel. This was not the place I wanted to get my sister’s fancy new truck stuck, that’s for sure. We parked far away in the pasture grass, walked as far as we could, then headed back to the house for – you guessed it more games.

We weren’t sure it was going to work, it’s more of a drive than we usually make. But maybe the ranch can be for girls after all. No men, dogs, hog hunting at 4 am, or large meals with cleanup after. We like waking around 7, having coffee in our pj’s, snacking all day on chips & dip, a bit of fruit, maybe some grits, bread, chex mix, nuts. Games games games. Mainly just getting away, knowing that for a short time we have no responsibilities beyond making our beds and leaving the place at least as nice as we found it. Yeah, maybe the ranch can be for girls – sometimes 🙂