Girl's Night Out

Last night was an Out Night.  Now, believe you me, I am a pretty big fan of In Nights (you know, the kind where you shuffle around in sweats and bare feet, read a book or watch some Netflix, raid the pantry...that sort of thing).  In fact, I don't know if I should even admit this out loud, but you know how in romcoms, they always portray the sad loser girl going home to eat takeout alone at the counter and then curl up on the couch in ugly PJ's to watch a movie with nothing but a pint of Ben & Jerry's and maybe a goldfish to keep her company?  The whole scene is designed to project the depths of misery and loneliness and I always sit there and think gosh, that looks like my ideal Friday night!

Anyway, I totally digress.  Last night was an Out Night, and in spite of my love for In Nights, Out Nights are very beneficial from time to time.

Straight No Chaser was playing at the Florida Theatre (what a great, old-school glam little venue, by the way), so a few of us loaded up on a Tuesday night and headed to Jacksonville for burgers, milkshakes, girl talk and some great a cappella singing.

So, let's take this in order, starting with burgers and milkshakes.  Shockingly enough, I hadn't tried M Shack, even though one of their outlets is a block away from my office and burgers and fries would definitely be my last meal of choice.  Sadly, I was in more of a social than a serious burger-eating mode last night, so I didn't really do the place justice (I even forgot to take pictures, so the mouthwatering image below is a stock photo, tee-hee) but I can tell you that the Marshmallow Brulee milkshake and the Crab Fries (no seafood, just seasoning) are pretty darn good.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com, a totally awesome site introduced to me by my friend Aletta, full of gorgeous, totally free high-res photos.

Actually, let's do this out of order.  Next, let's talk about the music.  Straight No Chaser is a 10-member, all male group, in the great college a cappella tradition (what, you didn't know there was a great college a cappella tradition?).  They had their breakout moment a few years ago when their version of 12 Days of  Christmas went viral (it is pretty clever) and they've been at it, ever since.  If I were to be perfectly honest, they had a few painfully pitchy moments, and, let's face it, Take6 makes everybody else look like mere children, but it was a really fun show, anyway.  Among the highlights?  Their version of All About that Bass was adorable, they did some great Stevie Wonder covers, and Jerome Collins pretty much owned everything he touched (not to mention his racially inappropriate humor, which cracked me up, thanks to the corrupting influence of a racially inappropriate pretty good pal of mine).  I lost my heart on the last number of the night, though - Dylan's To Make You Feel My Love (which is already basically one of my favorite songs of all time, sucker that I am).  They did it unplugged, mics and in-ears on the ground, and my heart melted into a puddle around my feet.

The real highlight of my night, though, burgers, milkshakes and ten cute guys with good voices notwithstanding, was spending time with my friends.  We were a carful of girls ranging in age from sixteen to fifty, with interests and backgrounds as wide-ranging as our ages, and we enjoyed every minute we had together.  We talked about everything from school and careers to travel and music (and listened to Jasmine sing, which in and of itself is an event worth writing home about - that girl's talent is pure uncommon) to beards and bullying, to wanting to fall more in love with Jesus and find ways to touch lives and make a difference.

Let me tell you, I've done my share of female socializing.  We girls are talkative critters - we're wired to communicate and connect, so when we get together, we tend to cover some ground, conversationally speaking.  All of that verbal firepower has the potential to do some damage - everybody's heard (and probably witnessed) the gossip and cat-fests that can occur when a bunch of girls get going, and the results aren't pretty.  That being said, on the other hand, you just cannot beat what happens when a bunch of like-minded, big-hearted, Jesus-loving chicks get together.  Age, class, marital status, background...none of it matters.  What matters is that we lift up, encourage and inspire one another, and each of us walks away determined to do life better, whether it's screwing up the courage to take the plunge you know you need to take, being a better wife and mother, making a stand against bullying at school, or just handling life's hurdles with grace.  Sometimes, it's that little extra boost that motivates you to register for that art class or clean out that closet you've been meaning to tackle.

I saw and loved this on a friend's Facebook wall not too long ago. Let's face it - we have the power to be our own worst enemies, or we can be some of each other's most valuable cheering sections.  I know, speaking for myself and my own experience, I treasure more than I can express those of my girlfriends that fill and have filled that role in my life, and if I can turn around and provide that same sense of connection and joy to them, well...then we've set up a real winners' circle, haven't we?