Old Friends, New Friends

Over the weekend, our family and another family went to a nearby lake.  The other family lives overseas, but they had come to the States for a few weeks.  The last time we did this was four years ago, and between the two families, we had 3 babies.  Now, we have 6 children between us.  The kids don't remember last time we were all together, but they loved playing this weekend... swimming, swapping hair bows, boating, hunting for Easter eggs.

What is most amazing to me about this weekend is the history behind it. My friend M and I have known each other since we were in pre-school and lived on the same street.  The picture of our daughters shown here is eerily similar to how we looked in the 70s.  In fact, I sent the photo to my mom who forwarded it to M's dad, and he asked where she dug this photo of us up from the 70s!  He was kidding, but it is similar.

This precious little 3-year-old girl is my god-daughter, and I had not gotten to spend much time with her until now since she lives in another country.  She is hysterical and truly reminds me so much of her mom ... her expressions, the careful way she sings So Long, Farewell , her desire to borrow things she likes--whether an item from your dinner plate or an item from your closet, her calm manner and peaceful smile.

When my daughter and my god-daughter were playing on Saturday evening at an outdoor restaurant, I could see M and me in the backyard of our childhood. The boys of the group this weekend were wild, banging sticks like swords, talking in booming voices, sweaty hair sticking to their foreheads; and these little girls were holding hands and trying to protect themselves. My daughter even walked up to the boys and shouted, "Can you please be calm for a minute!"  Like them, back in the day, M and I used to be on home base, "making ammo" and talking in the backyard, while the boys raced around from yard to yard,  playing war.

Today, I am thinking of the sweetness in these new friendships. Who knows what the future brings, but I sure hope these new friends will know the sweetness and certainty of being old friends.