We always enjoyed spending time with Jan and Steve. Steve and Will had a Boy Scout background in common, and they could spend hours making knots and discussing them. Jan is very artistic and the home they bought was beautifully decorated. It made me realize I had given very little thought to the decor in our little duplex, I figured as long as I had some avocado green and harvest gold I was doing well! But she didn't seem to judge me for my lack of taste. We were so comfortable together that sometimes Steve would lie down and the floor and doze off if they stayed after 9:00!
We had our first babies (both boys) within six weeks of each other and bonded as we went through those experiences together. But sadly for us, Steve took a promotion in Wenatchee and they moved away about two years later. We visited back and forth occasionally, and then came the bad news that Steve was being promoted again and they were moving to Maine! I can't remember what Will was doing but he was unable to make the trip up there, so I put the boys in the Caravan and drove up for a last visit. They had just built a beautiful new home in the mountains near Leavenworth, and the boys had a great time playing in the woods. Nick was only three, and I remember Steve mentioning how articulate he was. Talk talk talk! What happened? Now I don't know anything that's going on until his friends come over and tell me. But I digress.
Now it's fifteen years later, and they have moved to Seattle from Alabama. We finally met again when they drove down to spend this weekend with us. They couldn't believe it when the first thing they saw was the Bronco in our driveway! Yes, the same Bronco that we had taken us all to the mountains together many times twenty some years ago. (Will recently bought it back from Eric with renewed plans to fix it up. A retired guy can't have too many hobbies.)
It was so great to find them the same fun, interesting, generous people they were way back when - only more mature of course. They recalled the camping trip where we were making spaghetti for dinner and Will was draining it using a lid. I was cautioning him and amazingly, the lid failed and all the spaghetti disappeared into the bushes with the water! We had spaghetti sauce with bread for dinner. Will never has liked spaghetti much but really! This led to a story later on from another guest how as a young bride expecting guests for dinner, her spaghetti went down the garbage disposal as she drained it! Not knowing what else to do, she retrieved it, rinsed it off, and served it!
Two more couples joined us last night and we had many good laughs. Everyone remembered their signal for "time to leave". Jan would make a little clicking sound in her mouth...but it was discovered and soon everyone knew about it! Maybe that's why they had to move! We looked at our photo album of backpacking pictures and were horrified that we hiked in such short shorts! (Jan's were shorter than mine by the way!) Of course Will and Steve were wearing some pretty short ones too. But we all looked pretty good anyway!
It was absolutely wonderful to spend time with them again and see how God has blessed their lives. The weather was gorgeous this weekend, and we were able to sit around on our lovely new patio and enjoy the gorgeous red of the maple tree, in fact we ate lunch out there Friday. I could kick myself that I didn't take pictures.
We took some this morning before we tremulously said good-bye. (Jan and I laughed at that word in a newspaper article yesterday and I vowed to use it as soon as appropriate.) We plan to meet somewhere between before too long and camp together.
Friends, old and new, are wonderful gift from God!
No comments:
Post a Comment