Hey, soul sister(s)!

Minutes ago, I received an email from Alaska Air bearing news that a beloved friend (and fellow blogger here at Waiting For Ships to Come In) will be flying down from Alaska in September to attend my wedding in California. I did a happy dance, ran across the house to notify my fiance, and happy danced a little more.



C and I met over two years ago in Washington, DC after months of phone and email correspondence. She was a kindred spirit and a role model, and I thought I couldn't get luckier in finding a Coast Guard spouse friend across such a great distance. As fate would have it, I met ANOTHER amazing Coast Guard wife on that same trip, this time in Portsmouth, VA.



In the tiny microcosm that is the Coast Guard, I had stumbled into a circle of friends that started at the Coast Guard Academy (both ladies are married to academy graduates) and expanded to include my little family. Due to work and family trips, I have been able to see both ladies at least once a year.

Since the world just wasn't tiny enough yet, the Coast Guard then decided to move both C and Sirena over to the West Coast, completing my diabolical plan to somehow get all of us in the same state at the same time. Enter: the 2009 West Coast ladies' weekend getaway, hosted by the fabulous Sirena in beautiful Seattle.



We wined, we dined, we explored and we laughed, a lot. I created a video documenting our trip, and the aptly titled song I selected was "Hey, Soul Sister" by the band Train. It turned out to be the perfect tune to complement the little sisterhood of the traveling spouses that we had become.

This meandering ramble now brings us back to present day, and my email from Alaska Air. Both C and Sirena have confirmed their attendance at my wedding this September here in the Napa Valley, and I cannot wait to report back with the hilarity that will ensue. The fact that they are both willing to take time out of their busy work and family obligations to see me get married is something I will eternally be grateful for.

Oh, and our sisterhood circle? It definitely includes you ladies here at Waiting For Ships. We eagerly (and impatiently!) await the arrival of Just a Girl in a Port here on the left coast :)