Friends - continued (part 2)

Since moving to Virginia in early 1998, we have met some people whom only one word describes – awesome. There are many couples, families to be more exact, with whom we share so much. Friendship really took on a new meaning shortly after moving here. On the very first day we moved in, a few couples on our street invited us to sit on the street while the kids played and grab a brew to talk. We watched the kids play and instantly made friends. It was that night that we met a couple down the street (see previous post), with whom we hit it off right away. The boys were in scouts and in school together. I will post a more specific post about them before they move. The “going away for a while” party is happening on Saturday. I know that tears will be shed that night.

We have one friend who has been through many changes – a child that died from a mystery illness, a divorce from an abusive drunk, a rebound relationship with another, older, even more abusive drunk, and the development of a wonderful relationship with her second husband. He treats her kids better than they have been treated with their father. This spring, one of her twins (8) had medical problems that were very sudden and very serious. We heard an ambulance coming down the street early one morning only to have it stop in front of our house. Our hearts were in our throats not knowing what had happened. The girl ended up having a problem very similar to the child that died. It was during that time that the mom I think realized who her real friends were. We were there for her day and night, taking care of the kids without her asking. I think she was overwhelmed with the support that some gave and with the support that others didn’t provide. The true friends were there to provide the unconditional support. Thank God, her daughter came out if it with little problems and a much better understanding of why her son died (and how to protect the family from this condition). But, I digress.

The point of this post that I have skirted around is that friends matter. They matter to us and they should matter to you. You will smile more and live longer when you have someone to share your heartbreak, your joys, your tasks, and your downtime with.

Friends - part 1

We attended another neighborhood party last night. It was the 7th almost annual Olympic Party, held at a friend's house down the street. There were so many people there that we knew -- and got to meet a handful of others. This party was started close to a summer olympic year, and has the wackiest challenges ever. Of course, they are really challenging when you have been drinking all evening. Teams were choosen ahead of time, and all couples were split between the two teams. This makes for a competitive environment. Of course, cheating is not encouraged, but is thought to occur regularly (cheating with the games, not with your neighbors ;-).

The first event was a "get to know your neighbor" event. You had to stand next to two people of the opposite sex and have your hands tied together (strips of cloth were used for this). When everyone was tied up and the game began, you had to thread an illuminated (that would electrified) string of lights in your left sleeve of your shirt, across your chest, and out the right sleeve. On to the next person. Once it hit the end of the line, you had to go the opposite direction, and thread it through the sleeves and over your back. The first team to run out of lights won. Definately an ice breaker!

When all was said and done, I wondered home just before 3:30. Good thing most of our neighbors were at the party and drinking as much as we were!

The hosts of the party are moving to Pennsylvania in the next few weeks. They are very good friends of ours - and have been for the seven + years we've been in Virginia. They are probably the closest couple to us from a relationship / reality / work ethic perspective. While we have two other couples that we are really good friends with (and actually spend more time with), these guys are level headed and really consistent with what can be expected. They actually understand when work gets in the way of kids demands, or when paying the bills is not even a question of priority.

Last year, Bill (the hubby here) had a real scare with cancer. It didn't overwhelm their lives, it was just part of it. I must say that with that, I realized what a great person he is at acceptance of things he cannot change. However, they also realized that they were not to finish life but continue it and change the things they could. Over the past 2 years, Bill has lost 45 lbs., runs several days a week, all while driving 60,000+ miles every year. It's just what is needed to keep things in motion. I respect that, and will miss the weekend (since he's gone most weekdays) friendship that we've shared over the past 7 years.

Thanks for another great (but final) Olympic party friends.