......I still have laugh lines, I'm still full from the fabulous meals we consumed, I can also still remember the comfort of the soft down bed that cradled me for some long sleeping......and I am so grateful to have friends that after 15 years of living in different parts of our country, we take the time to adore and preserve the friendship we have......
.......a weekend is usually not enough time to catch up on all of the details of the last year of our lives....and although we capture glimpses of our daily activity throughout the months apart over the phone; there is a freedom that reveals itself when you can tell stories without interruption.....there is beauty in being able to ask for opinions and hear your friends encourage you that you are doing the right thing or perhaps one of us could try this or that...... there is the benefit to gain perspective since we all have different moving parts happening in our lives.....
......and we recreate the details of all our conversation to the fullest because we can and because that's what we do......with sidebar stories occurring with every explanation of our recaps and a parking lot list adding up of the things we need to discuss- whether it be over dinner, during brunch or spontaneously pausing in the middle of a park on a gorgeous 65 degree fall day, just because we want to give each other the attention, time and concentration that one of us needs to explain a joyous life occasion, a struggle or a funny story about one of our children....
......it's non stop talking, listening, and laughing......sometimes there are tears, sometimes there are sobering stories of someone who is having it tougher than us, only to help us relish in the blessings we have been given......and we all walk away fulfilled, hopeful, reinvigorated to come home to our husbands, our children, our jobs, our routines.....
.......it's always a celebration......
......it's always a treat.....
.....it's always a time to savor and cherish the something olds in our lives that happen to be friends from a long time ago.....
......so during the week before Thanksgiving when our home will be filled with loved ones, I am feeling especially grateful for the special people in my life that are my oldest and dearest friends.....
.....savoring every minute.....
