I grew up in a rural area a couple hours out of Melbourne. It’s not a really small area but small enough. With the Little Miss being on school holidays it was a perfect time to head down for a relax and catch up with friends. I am very lucky that I am still close friends with people from high school and one from primary school. Although this does cause the problem that the list of friends to visit is longer than I actually have time to visit. (So I am sorry if we didn’t get to catch up.)
My mum passed away a few years ago so I like to get down regularly to see my dad. But being the bad daughter that I am I haven’t been down since the start of the year. Luckily my dad forgave my transgression (dad’s are good like that). We chatted, caught up on all the news and made sure he was doing well.
One thing I love to do when I head home is have Mexican from the local restaurant there. It has become a tradition with my friends and I. Although since I moved away (12 or 13 years ago) the owners have changed. It is still good food but nowhere near as nice as the original owners.
Before I left I was sent a message from my old friend’s mum asking if I wanted to catch up the next time I was down. I hadn’t seen them in at least 10 years if not a little longer so was so very excited about it. During my high school years they had welcomed me into their family with sleep overs or even just being invited over for dinner. They lived out of town on a farm so this was always a big thing to visit. Gradually over time I had lost contact with them. Luckily Facebook came around and I got in contact again.
It was great catching up with them. Sharing family news and just enjoying their company. The best thing was even though I hadn’t seen them in so long it didn’t feel like that. It was so natural and felt like I had only seen them last week. Although I hadn’t realised how much I had missed them. I have to make sure that I keep in better contact.
They are such a special and wonderful family. Despite the short notice they happily visited even arriving with gifts in hand. The Little Miss was delighted in the art kit she was given. She hasn’t stopped talking about it. The muffins were delish. And you can not believe my excitement at the generous bag of yarn that I was given 🙂 I have so many ideas of what to do with it.
I am so lucky and thankful to have such wonderful friends and family.
“A lifetimes not too long to live as friends” Michael W Smith – Friends (1983)
