Today Marked The End…

… of our family’s “sacred week”… or sacred nine days as it was… it varies a little bit from year to year… 

I’m not exactly sure how this got started, but basically we come home (or send people home) from whatever our last parsonage family type responsibility is before Christmas, and we close the door, take a deep breath, and sort of disappear until January 2^nd.

This year I was not ready for it to end.  This is sort of ridiculous, because I had not spoken to another human being outside of my home or immediate family in 10 days… well, except for a brief trip to Wal-Mart on the 26^th in which I felt completely claustrophobic… and the quick phone call to Dominos on New Year’s Eve when I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around the concept that they were closed… and, oh yeah, the few sentences exchanged with Keegan (age 6), who called my cell to find out if Ian could come to his “party” on New Year’s Eve…

I told Keegan we could set up a play date for later in the week.  He left me a voice message early the next morning.  I sent his mom a text message and asked them to come over today… January 2^nd…

And I’m really glad I did, because I probably needed a play date as much as Keegan did… (Keegan… who woke up his whole family at 5:00 today, because he was so excited that he would get to play with Ian…)

There’s just something about “lifelong” friends.  The truth is, I don’t really have any, but I do have a few who go back as early as 2^nd grade.  I also have some who date back to the youth group years, and I was blessed to connect with quite a few of them, via Facebook, this New Year’s Eve, as some old pictures were uncovered, dusted off, scanned, and shared.  Old friendships are really good.  And perhaps that’s one of the reasons I dug my feet in 20 months ago when life circumstances threatened to rock our world… and stability… again. 

More than a handful of people have asked me why I wanted to stay in this town.  Let’s be clear.  It’s not the town.  I haven’t completely lost all of my senses!  But we do have something here… or perhaps, better (but less grammatically) put, we have “some-ones” here…

And even though I emerged somewhat reluctantly from sacred week…  It’s good that I was met by friends when I did. 

I want my kids to have lifelong friends.  Ian and Keegan are a good example of that today, because even when you’re only six years old, anybody who was around for your first birthday party definitely counts!

 Ian and Keegan

Then: 2007

And Now 2013:

 

 L.