Sisters by the Sea

Sisters by the Sea
When six military girlfriends met up from around the country at the Charlotte airport, the fun began and the laughter didn’t end.  We call ourselves the PRG’s – PAX River Girl’s, because we first met each other over seven years ago when we were all stationed in PAX River Maryland.  After we PCS’d to new duty stations around the world, we decided to meet up once a year for a mom’s get away.   This year we headed to the Turks and Caicos.

Our friend, Stacey literally started things off with a bang, when she dropped three new bottles of wine in the Duty Free shop at the airport.  The staff actually handed Stacey and her partner in crime, Amy, a mop and told them to clean it up.  The rest of us were a big help by laughing hysterically and snapping photos.  By the time we boarded the plane the entire International wing of the airport knew who we were.

We landed in the Turks and stood for awhile in the customs line and quickly caught up on the past year of each other’s lives.  Who moved, who is moving, who’s deployed, who is deploying, who’s child is now walking and talking.  You name it; we discussed it and talked in acronyms that only military wives understand.

Once we reached the resort, it was all unedited and unrated conversation with no topic off limit.  Upon our arrival we were greeted with cool fragrant towels and welcome punch, which is now Karen’s favorite drink of choice.   We instantly felt like celebrities and undeserving of the lavish accommodations, however we did not waste any time, threw on our suits and headed out to the pool. 

Our days were spent as a bunch of amoebas moving from one end of the pool to the other.  Our only exertion occurred when we walked about 20 feet up to the beach where the most translucent turquoise waters of Grace Bay welcomed us.  We huddled our lounge chairs in positions that were designed more for conversation than sunbathing.  We traded magazines, we ordered drinks with umbrellas and we fought over who got the last bite of the heavily salted greasy sweet potato fries.   

The evenings were spent at dinner under the stars, sand below our feet and feeling the soft island breezes.  Sounds romantic, however it was anything but romantic, for everyone sitting near us.   We are a bunch of moms unleashed from our children, husbands and the mundane duties of our everyday lives.  Therefore, the only sound in the air were the shrills of our laughter and the rattle of ice in our drinks.  We sounded like a bunch of cackling hens and we were proud of it. 

Every year we come away from our vacation renewed and refreshed.  We feel like we are better wives and moms when we return home to the craziness of our families.  We encourage, support and help each other with every stage of our military lives.  We laugh about old memories, cry on each other’s shoulder and talk about the future.   We dream about the day when we’re 60 and we are jet setting off to Europe together or meeting up at our children’s’ wedding. 

We lived like rock stars for a few days, but, unfortunately our escape came to an end and we returned home to our own reality show called, “life.”  So to my PRG’s, raise your fruity drink for a final toast –

“To the strongest women I know…your love, support and friendship is as constant as the waves that cradle the shores of the beach and you will always be my sisters by the sea.”  Until next year…. JGP  11/10