You know that feeling that comes over you in a flash when you are 'done' - body, mind, and soul? Maybe you have walked the mall or worked all day long, then ran errands, and now it's 98 degrees outside, 100% humidity, your feet are killing you and all you have to do is find your keys to make it through your front door so that you can fall onto the couch? One ... more ... step! Al ... most ... there!

Sometimes life in general just feels like that, doesn't it? Everything piles up, goes wrong, dumb little things roll into a growing snowball until you suddenly feel like Indiana Jones running from that monstrous boulder. I don't know about you, but I can't run that fast, I never have Indy's sort of luck on my side, and sometimes I just need a mental couch to fall onto before I scream loud enough for strangers to stare.

I had that couch, once a month, for about fourteen years. It was called canasta. I played the game with three friends -- and it was anything but a game for old ladies, thank you very much. (Old ladies could never handle our conversations.) We happily ate junk food, sometimes drank wine or sangria, had coffee, shared stories, advice, tears, and the sort of laughter that results in no sound coming out. In homage to the film, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, we called ourselves Ya-Yas, and at the end of every meeting, we pulled out our calendars to schedule the date and place for the next one. Pity the husband who dared to get out of watching the kids on a canasta night!

About one week before each meeting, we would call or text each other with phrases such as, "OMG ... thank God canasta is Friday", "I need a canasta! Now!", and "Is it Friday yet?" Because canasta was the couch to fall upon when operating on one last thread of energy and sanity. Only one ... more ... day ... to .... canasta!

Love my Ya-Yas always!

 Anyone have ideas on how to play cards over Skype? Seriously.