I’m back. I’m black. And I refuse to let go of this tan just like I refuse to let go of my Cabo weekend. Hence, the vacuuming my room in a bikini later and laying in a kiddy pool under a heat lamp this weekend. I don’t even want to celebrate any future birthdays for fear the experience will only fall short. I could write an entire three-part re-cap about my trip but I won’t because 1) No words could EVER justify it and 2) What happens in Cabo … never happened.
However, I will write about the importance of having a good team on your side. The topic of friendship may seem redundant by now, but you really don’t understand just how much I appreciate having girlfriends.
I am an only child that grew up with all male cousins. I played kickball in dresses and pinched all the boys that liked me and made them cry (karma’s a bitch I tell ya lol). I got hated on a lot in high school and was called a ho just because I ran with hella dudes even though none of these dudes ever ran up in me. So I became one of the boys, embraced the label and wore the title like a purple heart. Yet, I longed for a genuine sisterhood with like-minded females. I saw groups of girlfriends and envied the bond they had. But I had had so many misunderstandings with other girls I didn’t want to bother getting my heart broken again by someone I considered a sister to me.
It took me 30 years to realize that while it’s not always the case, a woman with no homegirls isn’t always a no-fuss kind of chick who is “allergic to drama,” and catty females. Sometimes this woman IS the catty female. When I would see chicks that hung out with only dudes I used to think, “Great, she’s just like me. We’d probably get along!” Now I’m more freaked out than anything. You ever see Angelina Jolie out having lunch, laughing over brunch with her girlfriends? NOPE. Why? BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T HAVE ANY! Why? I dunno, maybe because she’s a homewrecker that makes out with her brother from time to time?! Just sayin.
During a very brief moment of downtime in Cabo, I laid there in one of the many infinity pools the Riu Santa Fe had to offer and basked in the view before me. It wasn’t that of Lover’s Beach, an amethyst sunset, or even a hot six foot tall Nuyorican. It was of seven of my dearest friends smiling, laughing, and enjoying life. It was one of the best birthday gifts I didn’t even have to ask for. I wanted to somehow freeze time, and protect the memory FOREVER. I knew it wouldn’t be long before people moved, or the single ones got boo’d up. For a split second the selfish bitch in me wished they’d never get boyfriends, but instead I wished we all fell in love at the same time.
I never understood girls who enjoyed being single because it gave them the opportunity to respectfully do as they pleased. Makes me assume they’re the type of girls who either submit to unhappy, controlling relationships, or drop from the face of the Earth once involved. I’m not saying any of my girls are like that, but who knew when a moment like this would ever happen again?
I used to pride myself for being one of the boys. For dranking, smoking, and straight West Coasting with the best of them and being able to commentate on a game without regurgitating something I only overheard and didn’t understand. And I still do. But now I pride myself even more for having the best set of girlfriends I could ever ask for. I had the time of my life ladies, and I owe it all to YOU.