A Day with Old Friends

Paul and I had breakfast at Sal and Sandy's house this morning. How refreshing to rekindle this friendship. It's one of those relationships which, regardless how long it's been since your last conversation, you pick up where you left off. Paul loves Sal every bit as much as I love Sandy. What a treat to have a couple that's a great match for both of us. With Sal and Sandy we tend to jump into the deep end of biblical fellowship quite fast. I love that.

The funny thing was they were asking for our counsel on the whole dating and courtship thing. Why's that funny? Because they've been around that mulberry bush a few times,but we have just begun. We told them we're not about formulas or rules. Caution and care, yes, but each relationship is unique and we try to treat our adult children as adults. It's a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. Our kids talk freely with us. I love them. Can you tell? I don't say it enough, but I love them and I love the times we spend together. I realize it's fleeting.

Anyway, back to.....

Breakfast with dear friends. We talked about so much. Life. Death. Mental illness. The love of God. The church. Truth. Education.

We laughed. We cried. We agreed. We disagreed.
Three and a half hours seemed like fifteen minutes. We were also asked this question: What do you guys do for fun? And we were stumped. Paul has fun playing golf. I have fun shopping or drawing. (More relaxing than fun-fun.) Bottom line, we have fun independently but need more fun together.

So I said, "How about you guys? What do you do?" And they laughed. Not much fun. (For those who don't know, Sandy care for their 32 year old severely autistic son day in and day out. Her only outings are Saturday afternoon and evening with Sal while their older teens babysit Todd. He doesn't talk, has never said "Mom" and can't feed himself. He shares a bedroom with them. So if you're wondering why her fun is limited, that's it. I have not met a more selfless mother ever.)

If we were gonna plan fun ,it had to done on the spot. Let's plan some. We ruled out three weekends, So...that narrowed it down. In two weeks we will attend the Little Italy summer film festival. Every Friday night the cops cordain off certain streets, old guys play bocci ball, and when it's dark, they show a movie on the side of a building. We're gonna go to Amicci's or Sabatino's first, and maybe Vacarro's again. (We tried it once as part of Stephen's senior dinner, but were disappointed. But I'm not opposed to giving it a chance at redemption.)

If the Barrancos end up unable to go, we'll still go. We might invite another couple spontaneously or take our kids. We need some fun in our lives.
Isn't it great to have friends who ask pointed questions that perk up your spirits?

From breakfast with them to a surprise 50th birthday party for Gary Bull, we celebrated life today. Gary has known Paul since 1984. He recalled that Paul came by the house for dinner a few times a week till he met this girl named Zoanna. AFter that, Gary and Kim never saw him. That is, until one night at Putty Hill Skateland when Zoanna announced their engagement. Gary and Kim were such a magnetic part of our courtship (would you like to see pictures?) that we asked them to be in our wedding. Over the years our love for them has grown and grown.

Thank You, Father, for blessing us abundantly with precious friends.