It finally came!
The weekend I had been looking forward to for months and months! The weekend Deanna and her crew were going to leave their new hometown of Fort Collins and drive two days straight in order to attend the confirmation of a dear niece.
Fortunately for me, this dear niece resides in a locale not unreasonably far from our own current hometown. And this dear niece's family was kind enough to host us for a wonderful afternoon that leisurely extended into the evening.
These pictures are for my own selfish viewing pleasure (and possibly Deanna's), so they will be caption-free.
David was in heaven: With the exception of Mary, there were "no babies" and "only big kids." Plus, a boat sandbox, lots of huge water guns, a Tonka excavator, Legos, watermelon, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and ice cream. Like I said, heaven.
Mary was in heaven too: Not one, but two slides! A play house, watermelon, plenty of deck stairs to climb (and fall down), and ice cream.
Greg was pleased to have somewhere to take his family on a Sunday afternoon, thus avoiding his wife's weekly Sabbath meltdown. I think he also enjoyed taking charge of keeping the fire burning, as well as the opportunity to return to Deanna the Starbucks coffee mug she left here a year ago. (I think he's been concerned that I might start toting it around town filled with Diet Coke and people would think that I was--gasp--drinking coffee. Fortunately for him, he had it hidden really high up in a cabinet I couldn't dream of reaching.)
And it goes without saying (though I will say it anyway) that I was in heaven because I was with Deanna. (I also can't express how happy I was to meet her daughter, whom I'd never before met. She let me give her a big hug, and holding her close nearly brought tears to my eyes. What is it about daughters, even when they are not your own?) It was so refreshing to my soul to be with Deanna. There is nothing quite like being with someone who knows you so well and for so long that you can absolutely be yourself--even if your self is fragmented, uptight, and insecure.
Yesterday I was talking to my baby brother Daniel, telling him about my visit with Deanna. (This is the brother, who, when he was Mary's age, referred to Deanna and me as "Nya" and "Sha.") He commented, "You have been friends forever." (If nearly twenty years counts as forever, then, yes, we've been friends forever.) And, "You'll be friends forever." That definitely goes without saying.
P.S. Deanna and Pete, more heaven awaits us. See you guys in a month!
