Girlfriends For The Win
So tell me. Would you go on a vacation with 3 other women that you’d never met in person?
I did. And it was one of the best experiences of my life.
I knew these amazing ladies from an online community of Disney lovers. We chatted about all things Disney. We were friendly, but not necessarily friends — yet. We lived far away from each other. I was in Arizona. One of the ladies was in Canada. One in the northeast, and one in Texas.
It was February 2017. There were several people we collectively knew that had gone to Walt Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend to run the races. We were all watching them post, and we all came up with the same idea around the same time — how fun it would be if WE trained and went the following year?
The seed was planted, and from then on, everything magically fell into place.
We created our own private Facebook group so we could talk, plan, and get to know each other better. We all started training. Some of us more than others (and, if you’re wondering, I’m in the “other” category). We talked about shoes. We talked about costumes for the races. And our friendships blossomed. We ventured from talking about our trip to more personal things. We laughed, cried, and commiserated with each other.
We registered for the 5K and the 10K for the 2018 Princess Half Marathon Weekend. We made our hotel and dining reservations. We made our plane reservations. We were all in.
Because we had spent so much time talking in our private group, I felt like I REALLY knew these women. They were my friends; my tribe. And when we finally saw each other in person, it was like coming home. We laughed, cried, and hugged. We clicked. And had the best 5 days together.
It went so well that we decided to do it again in 2019. That year we also added another beautiful woman to our group. She doesn’t run, but that didn’t make one bit of difference. She fit right in with us, seamlessly, and she is the most amazing cheerleader ever.
We’re planning a third trip together for a different race weekend this fall. We all have our fingers crossed that the pandemic doesn’t mess up our plans. But if it does, that’s ok. We’ll definitely see each other again. These women are part of my life now.
So listen. Just because you haven’t met someone in person doesn’t mean that they can’t be a true friend. We call ourselves “Sole Sisters” — but they are really sisters of my soul. I have 4 girlfriends that I know I can depend on for anything.
All because I took a chance.
