Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Feels like home for a reason

I've written before about my second home. Well, I'm here for another visit and having a wonderful time.

Sunday was the annual church picnic which this year was especially enjoyable. The parish celebrated its 75th anniversary. We had a beautiful outdoor mass followed by a picnic complete with all the usual salads and side dishes, but this time headlined by roast pig on a spit stuffed with smoked Polish sausage. That was a new one for me! It was delicious! But the best part, as usual, was spending time with dear friends.

People come into your life with whom you bond in a special way. As you get older and go your separate ways, you may only see each other every couple of years. But the bond makes it seem like no time goes by in between visits. The only evidence that some of my friends and I have been apart is the growth of their kids, who are just about the age now that we were when we became friends (wow)! This place is full of such friends.

Every time I visit here, my mind wanders to the first time my friends from Chicago came here for a youth meeting or something and slept over at P's house. There were visiting kids all over that house, sleeping on floors and couches. I remember waking up early and looking around. I somehow knew then that these would be life-long friendships (although I had no way of knowing that I would one day marry P's cousin).

God bless those parents who suffered us kids invading their homes for sleepovers. And God bless those friends who still let me sleep over even though I'm in my forties!

How cool is that?

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