Here & now … together

Having friends is good. Apparently Adeline and Ben agree.

I’ve been thinking about how sometimes I make friends because our kids befriend each other. Then there are the friends I have because we have a history that includes pre-kid life. I’ve made friends with other moms who parent like me. One of my dearest friends is single, doesn’t have kids yet, and lives too far away. Another another lives too far away but we still just pick up where we left off, like we have for 21 1/2years. My friends encourage me in this challenging but rewarding phase of motherhood. They help me become a better version of myself. And we share our lives.

However and whenever each friendship was born and grown, I’m blessed by my friends. I certainly couldn’t do life without them. Thankfully, we laugh more than we cry. Their kids become part of my kids’ stories. And my friend that doesn’t have kids adores mine and helps me stay rooted in myself as a whole person.

Chloe and Cate were ready to tie-dye …

… and they just kept adding the colors.

Did I mention we laugh?

As we were leaving those friends’ house, Cate stuffed her dress pockets with pitachios and grapes. And then Chloe handed her and Ben packages of string cheese. You would have thought Cate was a poor, homeless girl who wasn’t sure if she’d have enough food for her next meal. {This is certainly not the case.} And all I could do is look and Jenn, admit I had no idea what my daughter was thinking, and thank her for sharing.

She shared her snacks. But she also shared her tie-dying kit, which left some colorful marks on her backyard patio. More importantly, Jenn and I have forged a relatively new friendship. And friendship is the best kind of sharing there is.

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Jaclyn and I share almost 14 years of memories, which include being in college, planning weddings for the same summer, starting careers, wanting to have babies but not being able to, quitting our jobs once we had the babies in different ways, adjusting how we spend time together as our kids’ seasons change, and watching our kids love each other much like siblings.

So sometimes it’s good to load up the mini van with Jaclyn and her two kids that aren’t in school with me and my two kids and go do something fun. Like pick strawberries. 

He was repeating my directions: “All red.”

Caroline (20 months), Cate (almost 5), Norah (4), and Ben (2 1/2).

It’s good to be with those you love. Like when another friend let me crash her house for lunch this week when the weather wasn’t cooperating for the park, where our boys like to … well … be boys. Like when a texting conversation resolves a small issue with a friend who doesn’t share my normal schedule and we realize we need to make adjustments to hang out like we want to. Or when the too-far-away friend hasn’t email in awhile {and it goes both ways, yes …} and I suddenly sit at a computer missing her. Then there is the other too-far-away friend {this one of 22 years} who painted my nails last weekend when I got to see her, so I’ve thought of her all week as I’ve lived life, which gradually chips away the sparkly paint.

This is life. It’s worth sharing, all the snacks and strawberries and memories and seasonal adjustments and the little people who come along with me. This is how I’m blessed. Here. Now. In this community.

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