Like A Refreshing Spring

We had a great vacation.  You may have noticed I was on vacation because of the technical glitch on my last post.  We had a great time with my family at our  cottage in Michigan.  We also had a great time with friends I don't get to see very often and both of their babies.  One of my friends had a 1 1/2 year old I hadn't met yet and the other one had a 9 month old I had not met yet.

These friends are both very special to me in different ways.  One is a devout Catholic ,while the other family's members are devout non-denominationals.  Both of them are the type of friends that when you leave you feel better about yourself and about the world.  This is important in times like these.  In times when all of us aren't really thrilled about our political choices or the direction our world may be going.  It was also refreshing to get to a place in the country where churches are common and it's ok to leave your doors unlocked in the driveway, run around in your bare feet and hold opinions that are proudly displaced on billboards that would not be seen in more politically correct areas.

It's also refreshing to be with parents who are going through the same struggles- getting your toddler to eat, potty training, manners and balancing work and family.  As one of my friends said, "it's not healthy to be isolated, but sometimes it's too easy to become isolated."  I yearn for a time when my friends and I may live close enough together I could go over to their house and enjoy a glass of wine on the porch every night and discuss our problems, joys and hopes.  For now, I will settle for every so often, but perhaps someday, our paths will be closer.  Until then, I hope to be a better friend and enjoy the refreshing spring of friendship whenever my path can lead back to it.

I also found myself praying easily with both friends- I think I kind of surprised my husband when I went into spontaneous prayer with my non-deonominational friends (still beginning and closing with the sign of the Cross) and ending with "In Jesus' name, Amen".  I guess I've picked up the different languages of different forms of prayer and the different vocabulary we all use to say, "Please and Thank you" to our Lord.  Even as grown-ups we need to still remember to do this and I'm ever so grateful for wonderful friends who make this journey a little more interesting and a little lighter load.