Sleep Deprivation is a Good Thing?

Holy cow, what a crazy weekend.

One of my close girlfriends from Houston, Laura, was up in Fayetteville this weekend. She drove up for the game with a couple of guys I know, and had been asking me if I could meet her up there at some point over the weekend. I'd been pretty doubtful, because J and I were playing a mixed doubles tournament this weekend, and that usually means matches on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But the draws were totally screwed up, and J and I didn't play our first match until Saturday at 2:30. So Friday morning, I busted my ass, got a ton of shit done that needed doing, and made my way up to Fayetteville for the night.

J will quite possibly have 6 tennis matches over 2 days, so he decided not to go up with me. He was, however, awesome enough to let me go by myself. He didn't have it too badly himself, though - my mom kept the kids so he got a night completely off. He also got a bit more sleep than I did, but that's all good. The only caveat was that I could not come back and try to play our tennis match with a hangover. He was skeptical about whether I would be able to stick with this, and given my history, he might've been slightly right to be skeptical. Sometimes being petite is not the best thing in the world...my liver is apparently just as small as the rest of me.

Anyway. I digress.

So I made it up to Fayetteville in time for happy hour, and picked up a friend of mine who teaches at the UA on the way to a wine bar there. We hung out at the Wine Cellar until his wife showed up, and Laura and the boys made it ito town. We made introductions, all had a glass of wine, and chatted for a while. I'm always curious to see what happens when we introduce one group of friends to another - most of the time it works just fine, and it seems like this round of intros went fine as well. Eventually, Laura and I split off to have dinner with the boys, while the professor and his wife went to eat dinner.

We all met back up later that night at a Jazz Club near Dickson to listen to some live music (Laura was staying at the house of one of the band members playing there, so that's how we knew about it). The club was completely packed. Laura and I had to wait outside for about 10 minutes because the club was at capacity. Really? In Fayetteville? Then again, it was the night before a big game, so I guess it makes sense.

The music was great, but the bar was understaffed and slow, and the place was jam packed. Around midnight, the six of us split and headed to the professor and his wife's house to hang out on their deck, because the club had lost its appeal in the chaos.

There is something about late night conversations (laced with a bit of good scotch, or a good bit of scotch, whatever) that makes the inevitable sleep deprivation the next day 100% worth it. This sounds corny, but it felt a bit magical to be outside on their deck at 2am, surrounded by wonderful friends, bright stars above, a cool breeze, some background guitar music, and a slight buzz. It just makes you wish the night wouldn't end - and maybe that's where the magic lies, because you know that eventually, the evening will come to a close, everyone will sleep, and you'll have to pay the price tomorrow (or today, depending on the time). But for a few hours, you can push that thought back, and just revel in the here and how.

At some point in the past few months, my brother in law made a remark about keeping magic in your life. Although he might've been talking about a different kind of magic, I can see his point here. I am incredibly lucky to have some good friends in my life, and so, so fortunate to have nights like this.

Eventually, though, the night had to end. I'm fairly certain it was sometime after 4 am, before Laura, the professor and I stumbled into the house and headed to bed. And I was awake before 8, so it was quite the short night. As far as the tennis match yesterday afternoon...well, J and I won. And I was not hungover, thankyouverymuch. But it was not pretty; in fact, it was one of the uglier matches we've played. And ask me if I can remember a damn thing we talked about after 2am on the deck of my friends' house - and I have no freakin' clue. I remember laughing a lot, and I guess I'm gonna have to go with that.

The last night I remember that had a similar feel was the last night we spent on the deck in North Carolina with all of our Houston friends. I don't remember much about those conversations either, and it was a very late night, but again - same conclusion, it was totally worth it.

So maybe it's not about the conversations at all. Maybe it's just about being with the people  you know best, and people who know you best. The history behind you, the time that's been put into the relationships, and the ability to let time stand still for a few hours here and there, and just enjoy life.

And before you ask, no, I haven't been drinking today. I'm just feeling sentimental. It'll be a while before it happens again, promise.