"It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends."

It's always good to be reminded of how precious friendships are in our life. Last week, a good friend and I finally "synched" our busy schedules and had lunch together at Grandma's house. We hadn't seen each other in a year...a fact that I cannot believe even as I write it. We keep in touch all the time by e-mail, facebook, blog and phone...(that lovely technology, right?)...but with 7 children, 2 husbands, 6 pets and an hour drive separating us, we had just let too much time accumulate since our last face-to-face visit. I drove the hour to Grandma's, and she came out of her way from classes, and for a blissful 2 hours, we caught up on every subject imaginable. I am always amazed at the range of subjects we can cover in the course of a visit. She truly knows ME, all of my flawed self and life...and she still hangs out with me, so I love her. As we finished up and said good bye, she pulled out the most beautiful scarf that she had brought back for me on her last trip to Paris. Now you could bring me back an empty bottle from Paris, and I would treasure it, knowing it comes from the most beautiful city in the world...but this scarf is absolutely gorgeous, and again, I thank her for her thoughtfulness and kindness...and most of all, her friendship.

Sunday, the kids were invited to the Braves game with friends. We invited them all back to Grandma's house for dinner, along with some other old friends. The Husband was channeling Bobby Flay all day, creating and grilling, while I was channeling the Barefoot Contessa...or Giada..or Paula Deen...ok, whoever...just basically messing around in the kitchen. That evening, as we all sat outside on a beautiful evening, overlooking the golfers, it was a fitting tribute to Grandma, for this would have been her 68th birthday...and this would have been her perfect evening...lots of food, friends and conversation. The Husband told some "Grandma" stories...some appropriate and some not, but that was ok, because it is not a normal night if The Husband is not saying something inappropriate...and if truth be told, Grandma was known to throw out an inappropriate line or two also. We laughed and laughed...and inside I cried just a little, because in a perfect world...she would have been there with us. Our old friends had known her, but our new friends had not...and I guess that is how life goes. We move on and make new friends if we are very lucky, but we are fortunate also to have the old ones, the ones that "knew us when"....and are still around.

And so today, I'm thankful for friends old and new, for holidays and normal days....and until tomorrow, when there will be more stories to share...