The Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences is putting on a conference this upcoming weekend, the ‘Run Faster’ conference.  If you said this sounds like it would be right up my alley, well then, you would be correct.  But it’s not just because of the Chiropractic Sports Sciences part, which I love, and it’s not just because of the running part, which I also love… it’s because this conference has opened up friendship opportunities abound.

You see, I am lucky to have some incredible friends in my life.  And my girlfriends mean the world to me.  They are the sisters I never had, the shoulders to cry on, the ears to listen, and the arms to hug.  However, since some of my very best friends live very far away, their shoulders and ears and arms are usually via text or email or Skype.  This weekend has changed that.

One friend in particular…. you may remember Ange…. has not had a chance to visit in the six years since we shared a city.  She has not hugged my toddler, or seen my house, or met my dog.  We have not gone out for dinner, or laughed until we cried, or shared unspoken smiles in six years.  Sure, there’s been short visits when I’ve headed West for Christmas or Summer vacation, but they are always rushed and kid-filled and oh-so-short.  This time is different, this time we have time.

And in a worlds-colliding sort of way, Ange is going to meet her Burlington counterpart in my neighbour Marnie.  The similarities between these two, both big (just-turned-forty 1973 birthdays, opinionated, and mothers of girls) and small (passionate about environmentally-sound products, awesomely-unruly curly hair, and good-natured insult banter with my husband) are some of the reasons that I love them both.

Ange is my Western Marnie and Marnie is my Eastern Ange.  Yeehaw, eh?