Celebration Saturday: Friends

This week was packed full of renewals of friendship. For some reason, everyday was another way to celebrate friendship. From spending time at the lake, sitting by the pool or having lunch from a new café in town, it all equaled catching up with friends.

MONDAY: Every year I take a trip to a nearby lake and spend time with my longtime friend who lives there. We visit her garden and check out the new additions or future plans for it. Then we take a leisurely boat ride around the lake looking at the various cottages which have some how turned into mansions! When did that happen? We stop at a restaurant, tie up the boat and have lunch while watching the boats on the lake. We end our day back at her home and finish up our discussions! What a beautiful day it was!

TUESDAY: One of my friends had changed jobs this year and was super busy with the transition. Because of that, we had not gotten together for our usual chats, even though we are only ten minutes apart. This was the day for that. She came to my house and we spent several hours over lunch and sitting by the pool. It was a rather cool day, so we didn't get in the water.  The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze, so we had a great time catching up!

WEDNESDAY: Another one of my friends is getting married over the 4th of July weekend. She also is having a bridal shower today. I am unable to attend either thing, so I invited her to have a day at the pool where I could spend some quality time with her.  We grabbed lunch in town at a new café and brought it to the patio. We sat under the umbrella and talked as we ate. Then we headed for the pool. We did more talking there until the sky started turning dark. We knew storms had been forecasted, so we ended our pool time. Spending this time with her was a special treat for me. Much better that sharing her at a shower!

THURSDAY: My husband and I took a road trip on Thursday. We drove to Canal Winchester to visit a college friend of mine. It has been over 40 years since we graduated, but we have stayed in touch. Lately, with both of us retired, we thought we would see each other more often. But the distance keeps us apart. We had vowed at Christmas time to pick a date and just do it. Thursday was that date. We had so much fun talking and laughing. We had a great lunch at her house and then did more talking and laughing. We had so much catching up to do. It was a great time. Driving home for three hours after, we filled the time with retelling the stories we heard and commenting on how much fun we had.

FRIDAY: After a full week, I spent the last week day reflecting on how blessed I am to have all kinds of friends and of all ages. Our lives are made so much better with friendships. I am blessed to have so many!  I truly celebrate!