Friends (or the small things)

Over the last several months, I've been contemplating the value of good friendships and why those really "good" friends are so precious to me. Some dear ones go clear back to childhood while others span just the last few years, but are just as meaningful.

I have many of these "good" friends and yet I am terrible at keeping in touch with them. 

Do these people know they mean a lot to me? Why would they? I'm terrible at showing it and I have no good excuse ("I think about you all the time and yet only am pro-active about it a few times a year" is not the best excuse).

I'm a quality vs. quantity-friendship type of girl. I mean, of course I'll take as many friends as I can get, don't get me wrong. But I'm not the type of person who needs to constantly be surrounded by 100 girl friends. I'll gladly take the company of those few quality friends any day.

I always say you know you've got a good friend when you don't talk to someone for weeks/months and can still pick up a conversation like it's only been days. It's always comforting to know that even though I stink at calling people, that friendship is still intact.

I am grateful those people are patient and understanding and I hope they'll forgive me for my lack of communication sometimes. I'm grateful for those friends who are better people than I am and actually take the initiative to pick up the phone (like one good friend did this morning--she knows who she is and it totally made my day).

In those types of friendships, it's the small things that make such a huge difference: phone calls, emails, a weekend visit, etc.

A couple weekends ago, our good friends from dental school, the Sanfords, came to see us. They probably didn't think it was a major deal, but it meant a lot to me, seeing as over a year had passed by since we last saw them and we could just as easily have driven to see them (and although we talked about it plenty of times, we never actually did it).

We suck sometimes.

I was really looking forward to this visit, because since we last saw them, they had a new addition to their family and every time I see pictures of their little guy I practically drool over how darling he is. I couldn't wait to meet him.

Also, James used to be Chelsey's #1 fan (okay, aside from Tim) and would stare at her adoringly for hours. Obviously, I knew he wouldn't remember her but I was curious to see how he'd take to her.

The kid picked up right where he left off and wasted no time sitting on her lap and making her play with him. He adored her just as he had before. I loved that.

I didn't get any great shots but these will have to do until I can get my hands on better ones.

I was a little worried how our sassy two-year-old would interact with their almost 18-month-old but he was patient and shared and didn't do anything drastic, thank goodness.

Here's to many more future visits with good friends and a promise to myself that I'll be the one to take the initiative more often.