The Road to Reconnection

It’s nearly midnight, and I’m wide awake - again.

Not because of caffeine or chaos or the usual late-night thoughts that keep me tossing and turning. No, this restlessness is wrapped in something more tangled. Excitement. Anxiety. A touch of fear. A whole lot of heart.

Because tomorrow, I hit the road.

I’m heading to South Carolina to see my girls - three women who know me better than most. The kind of friends who’ve seen me at my best, held me at my worst, and loved me through all the versions in between. It’s been too long - years, honestly. Life got busy. Fear got louder. And the stretch of highway between us started to feel more like a canyon than a commute.

But here I am, bags halfway packed and courage slowly catching up.

If I’m being honest, the hardest part isn’t the distance - it’s the driving. That’s where the anxiety lives. It starts as a flutter in my chest and grows until even the most normal part of the trip feels like a mountain. Long drives do that to me. Too much time to think. Too many what ifs swirling louder than the playlist I’ve halfheartedly started building.

Still, I’m going.

Because friendship like this? It deserves the miles.

It deserves the stretch and the effort and the quiet bravery of showing up anyway.

So tonight, I’m letting myself feel both things at once: the fear and the fierce joy. The butterflies and the belonging. I’m not trying to push the anxiety down - I’m just making space for it in the passenger seat. Because tomorrow, my heart is heading home in the arms of the women who remind me who I am.

There will be laying by the pool. There will be delicious cocktails. There will be girl talk - deep belly laughs, a few tears, and then more laughter. There will be good food and probably more snacking than is reasonable. And through it all, there will be something even deeper - a kinship. A bond that doesn’t need explaining. The kind of connection you don’t find often, and when you do, you hold onto it with both hands.

I’m going for all those reasons.

But mostly, I’m going because they are my safe space.

And lately… I’ve needed that more than anything.