Doubtbusters!

Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!

As my three friends walked towards me at the Tampa Airport, I heard the song swirling in my head. I couldn’t help but laugh. Linda Butler, Patrice Lyttle, and Joan Gamble, a.k.a. the Golden Girls, had arrived for eight days with a plethora of chatter, laughter, and food.

Look out mailboxes and neighbors at Quail Creek. The Golden Girls will be creating new chaos.

Last year, if you remember, one of us (Blanche) ran into the neighbor’s mailbox while driving in reverse. We repaired the mailbox, not knowing the owners were watching on their Ring Doorbell Camera while vacationing in Georgia. Charlie later told me we were pretty entertaining. I advised him we would be available for more home repairs on our yearly trip. Four Golden Girls and a Hammer!

As they walked towards me, the song’s words changed: Who ya gonna call? Doubtbusters!

No one can calm my doubts and encourage my heart like these girls.

Every year, in April, the pause we take in our chaotic and sometimes tangled lives is a mental and physical retreat. A respite for our souls as well.

When you have friends who know you and your heart well, cheap but oh-so-valuable therapy is offered. No judgment. Not ever hearing, “You shouldn’t feel that way.”

The advice is gentle. We each know how hurt and heartache feel. We know that it is in the words spoken, ever so gently, that the heart can hear what it needs to heal. Why? Because these girls have had their emotional traumas and lived to tell the stories, their willingness to share has opened up the best therapy sessions. Coffee and chatter are great medicines.

We help each other through the quagmires and quicksand of hard times. It’s not always pretty when you picture three vintage women pulling another one out of the muddy pit she’s found herself in.

If anyone sees us out and about without makeup and our hair not so coiffed, they might think we need a makeover, but as Linda says, “These people will never see us again.” If we care, we slather on some lipstick and call it pretty, and it’s out the door we scurry.

There is strength in numbers, and there is strength in knowing my friends have my back. I see them armed and dangerous with words that will shield me from taking on burdens I was never meant to carry.

My friends know I am a “fixer” and need reminding that I cannot fix every person or situation. There are situations I wrestle with that I did not create. I cannot control the people in my life. I sure as anything cannot cure all that is wrong. Oh, the power those three “C’s” have over me. I picture my girlfriends with power packs, taking out the big guns, and pow-powing whatever I am dealing with.

I have come to realize there is strength in laughter. After even a small dose of drama, I find it amazing what laughter can do. I am so over dealing with the drama others bring into my life that has nothing to do with me. How often have I said, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Life gets gritty and brutal when it is my circus and my monkeys.

That is when the Doubtbusters come running. Well, not precisely running because when we fall, we can break something that may not heal or be replaced. They show up. They know I am doing the best I can. They reassure me that eventually, everything will be okay. It may not be the “okay” I want, but I will be OK. They create peace in my life. They show up and allow me to lean on their shoulders when I am most vulnerable.

Each year, I look forward to the moments when we read each other’s minds, our eyes tell what we are thinking, and laughter erupts. I’m not sure what kind of therapy that is, but it works.

So, when I doubt myself and the decisions I am making, when I doubt things will ever get better, when I doubt I can endure much more heartache, whom am I going to call? Doubtbusters!

They will come with their power packs of love, compassion, and kindness.

I love my Doubtbusters!

I hope everyone reading this finds a tribe of friends who love them well when life shoves them into quagmires and quicksand.

My question is … who you gonna call?

Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). Visit janethartleonard.com.