"Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them." ~Francesco Guicciardini
Have you ever gone to a get-together where you knew no one and left with a friend for life?
Have you ever had a conversation with a stranger and walked away feeling like you had known each other forever?
Have you ever been on a 12-hour road trip with 4 toddlers?
I have and I owe it all to the 10th and final friend on my Limp Along List, Stephanie.
"We're going to a cook out next Sunday in Leesburg. Some old friends from college just moved there and invited us over. We didn't have any plans, did we?" This is what my husband called and said to me one afternoon (exactly 3 years ago) as I was trying to get Desi down for a nap. My first thought was, "Can we talk about this later? You know it takes me forever to get her to sleep!". My second thought was, "Great. I am so shy and meeting new people can be almost painful!" He then explained that they had kids the same age as Desi and how he knew them and that they were "really cool"...so I figured it was worth a shot. Jason went to Johnson Bible College when he lived in Tennessee and played basketball there. His roommate was Tim Blackburn who had a sister named Stephanie. She was a senior when they were freshman. Stephanie was dating Greg Karnes, another senior and a teammate of J's. Stephanie and Greg got married in 2002 and had twins in 2005, Sadie and Landon. They are 6 months older than Desi. Duke is their youngest and was born in 2006.
I learned all of this on the car ride to Leesburg, which is approximately 45 minutes from downtown Orlando (where we live). As soon as we walked in the door, I felt at ease. These were normal, down to earth people, who worked hard and were ready to enjoy some adult time. Steph and I ended up in the back yard watching the kids and talking away. She seemed to genuinely want to know about my life and I was instantly hooked when she began to tell me about all they had gone through to have the 3 children running around in front of us.
I went home that night with a new friend.
Steph and I started hanging out. I would take Des to her house to play or we would meet up at the park. We would try SO HARD to arrange for the 2 of us to spend some mommy time together. When it actually happened, it went by way too fast. We talked about our kids and how frustrating whatever phase they happened to be in was. We laughed at my ridiculous family happenings and wished our husbands didn't have to work so hard. We became familiar with each others lives and soon we were more than comfortable with each other.
Then, it happened.
At one of our play dates Steph said, "I've really been wanting to make a trip to Tennessee to visit my family." I said, "Yeah, I would love to visit J's family, but he can't take any time off work with football and everything." Steph said, "What if we went together-you and me and the kids? We could split the gas and I have a built in dvd player in the van. Do you think we could pull it off?" My thought was, "Heck no! We'll be outnumbered! There's 4 of them and only 2 of us!", but I said, "Yeah! Sounds like fun! Let's do it!"
And we did it. It took a little longer than we thought and the noise level in that van was less than pleasant, but we did it. I learned so much more about my friend during those 24 noisy hours. I gained so much more respect for her and was glad that I said yes to the trip. Eventually we recovered and moved on to making new memories. When my favorite boy band came to town, Steph was right there next to me singing along. When I went through the miscarriage, she cried with me and when Emery was born she wasted no time getting to the hospital. She even brought a gift for me. :)
Looking back over the last 3 years, I count my friend Stephanie among the bright spots. She is my newest friend who will one day be an old friend, so for that, I say thank you.
Thank you for the Panera nights, the laughs, the listening ear and the rides. Thank you for taking a chance and trusting me with your friendship. I know your heart is further north, but I truly believe you and your family were sent here for a reason. 3 years ago, I walked into your new home and you welcomed me with open arms. Now, I can't imagine my life without you in it. You are an amazing woman. Eventually the day will come when we won't share the same state, but I look forward to visiting you wherever you guys go in that new home. :)
I love you, girl!
p.s. New Kids are coming back in July! (wink, wink)
Have you ever had a conversation with a stranger and walked away feeling like you had known each other forever?
Have you ever been on a 12-hour road trip with 4 toddlers?
I have and I owe it all to the 10th and final friend on my Limp Along List, Stephanie.
"We're going to a cook out next Sunday in Leesburg. Some old friends from college just moved there and invited us over. We didn't have any plans, did we?" This is what my husband called and said to me one afternoon (exactly 3 years ago) as I was trying to get Desi down for a nap. My first thought was, "Can we talk about this later? You know it takes me forever to get her to sleep!". My second thought was, "Great. I am so shy and meeting new people can be almost painful!" He then explained that they had kids the same age as Desi and how he knew them and that they were "really cool"...so I figured it was worth a shot. Jason went to Johnson Bible College when he lived in Tennessee and played basketball there. His roommate was Tim Blackburn who had a sister named Stephanie. She was a senior when they were freshman. Stephanie was dating Greg Karnes, another senior and a teammate of J's. Stephanie and Greg got married in 2002 and had twins in 2005, Sadie and Landon. They are 6 months older than Desi. Duke is their youngest and was born in 2006.
I learned all of this on the car ride to Leesburg, which is approximately 45 minutes from downtown Orlando (where we live). As soon as we walked in the door, I felt at ease. These were normal, down to earth people, who worked hard and were ready to enjoy some adult time. Steph and I ended up in the back yard watching the kids and talking away. She seemed to genuinely want to know about my life and I was instantly hooked when she began to tell me about all they had gone through to have the 3 children running around in front of us.
I went home that night with a new friend.
Steph and I started hanging out. I would take Des to her house to play or we would meet up at the park. We would try SO HARD to arrange for the 2 of us to spend some mommy time together. When it actually happened, it went by way too fast. We talked about our kids and how frustrating whatever phase they happened to be in was. We laughed at my ridiculous family happenings and wished our husbands didn't have to work so hard. We became familiar with each others lives and soon we were more than comfortable with each other.
Then, it happened.
At one of our play dates Steph said, "I've really been wanting to make a trip to Tennessee to visit my family." I said, "Yeah, I would love to visit J's family, but he can't take any time off work with football and everything." Steph said, "What if we went together-you and me and the kids? We could split the gas and I have a built in dvd player in the van. Do you think we could pull it off?" My thought was, "Heck no! We'll be outnumbered! There's 4 of them and only 2 of us!", but I said, "Yeah! Sounds like fun! Let's do it!"
And we did it. It took a little longer than we thought and the noise level in that van was less than pleasant, but we did it. I learned so much more about my friend during those 24 noisy hours. I gained so much more respect for her and was glad that I said yes to the trip. Eventually we recovered and moved on to making new memories. When my favorite boy band came to town, Steph was right there next to me singing along. When I went through the miscarriage, she cried with me and when Emery was born she wasted no time getting to the hospital. She even brought a gift for me. :)
Looking back over the last 3 years, I count my friend Stephanie among the bright spots. She is my newest friend who will one day be an old friend, so for that, I say thank you.
Thank you for the Panera nights, the laughs, the listening ear and the rides. Thank you for taking a chance and trusting me with your friendship. I know your heart is further north, but I truly believe you and your family were sent here for a reason. 3 years ago, I walked into your new home and you welcomed me with open arms. Now, I can't imagine my life without you in it. You are an amazing woman. Eventually the day will come when we won't share the same state, but I look forward to visiting you wherever you guys go in that new home. :)
I love you, girl!
p.s. New Kids are coming back in July! (wink, wink)
I love it :)
ReplyDeleteI made it until the line, "when she began to tell me about all they had gone through to have the 3 children running around in front of us."
to start crying...
I played for Steph then and will never forget the prayers and tears.. and more prayers and tears of joy when she had her lovely babies :)
I love that you two are friends and it makes me sure you are I will get closer and be great friends as time goes by :) I am very excited to see you and June and think you should kidnap Steph for another TN roadtrip!
Josh is on his way towards you right now! Get a big hug from him from me! :)