Monday, February 26, 2007

As Sunday morning lead into the start of another wonderful day...

as our home slowly began to come alive. First with Chaos and my daily routine with him, trying to coax him into being quiet and to go back to sleep, LOL! I often wonder why I don't just accept the fact that he is up and ready to go even when I am not. As soon as that thought entered my mind, I decided to start greeting him with the pleasure that he greets me, happy and wagging his tail, so I petted and made all over him for a bit before leading him outside. Upon his return trip in, a couple puppy treats were given, one extra just for good measure, a hug and kiss on his snout and I was then able to get around without him being right on my heels as he worked to bury his treasures in a living room rug.

Shortly thereafter, Don arose {LOL! Doesn't that sound silly?} and began making his way through his morning routine. We chatted briefly, telling one another "Good Morning!" and inquiring how each other's night was before I returned back to researching. As time went on, we began inquirying into each other's plans and intentions for the day when the telephone rang. It was our good and wonderful friend, Sheila, inviting us over for Sunday dinner. We chatted for a brief moment, quickly getting caught up with recent events in one another's lives, and made plans for later in the day. She gave me a bit of good news, Dennis made it out to his fabulous woodshop and cut a backing for the jelly cabinet she'd so lovingly gave me for my birthday and said that if we wanted to load it up we were more than welcome to while we were there. She also told me about a visit from her sister who saw this cabinet in another room and attempted to try to take it home with her. Sheila said she told Barbara, "No. No. No. That's Cathy's." As Barbara tried convincing her it should be going to her home, Sheila told me that Barbara stated, "... family is more important than friends." to which she responsed, "....not when that friend is family!" How sweet! I'd love to find a quote that represents those words to do something with and then tuck them somewhere inside the cabinet. Maybe something embroidered onto a crazy quilt heart? Anyways, we arranged a time for dinner to be ready and hung up as each of us returned to our morning routines. Around noon, Don and I headed out, stopping for gas and making a quick telephone call to say we were on our way.

We arrived at Sheila and Dennis's shortly before one o'clock. I'd desired to get there early so I could pitch in and help out with dinner. I should have known better as Sheila allows no grass to grow under her feet and already had everything into the oven. We settled in, drinking coffee, chatting, laughing, and enjoying ourselves and life, when Dennis returned from running an errand. We shared a wonderful dinner and I washed up our dishes while Sheila rinsed, dried, and put them away. She commented, "Man! Cathy and I can sure knock out a kitchen great together." It has become a tradition with us... she invites us for dinner, does the cooking, and I assist with the clean up, LOL! We sat at the kitchen table, drinking more coffee, snacking on carrot cake muffins and chatting some more before I could see the fog starting to form across the fields and down into the valleys surrounding their home. I knew it was time to start saying our "Good-byes."

I've come to feel a twinge of regret while we share this part of our time together, the saying good-bye. Without words, I know, Sheila feels it, too. Somehow, we always end up laughing and making promises and plans to get together real soon. We are definately kindred spirits walking life's pathways together. God certainly blessed both of us the day that our paths crossed.

In what seemed to be a wink of an eye, her house became a flurry of activity with Josh {Sheila's youngest son}, Dennis, and Sheila carrying out the jelly cabinet and loading it into our truck. I felt a wincing, a tightening within my chest, as I thought about all the love this cabinet has had since Dennis first created it within his woodshop and Sheila instantly laid claim to it. Every visit, right from the moment of first entering her home, I remember this cabinet being located somewhere in her dining room, displaying different collections, holiday decor, and items she cherishes. As the process of loading the jelly cabinet continued, I noticed that Sheila was ready to say "good-bye" to that cabinet; she knew it would have a good, loving home. When she stated she was ready to part with it, I couldn't believe my ears and suggested she just store it for away for awhile but she insisted "it's gone!" I remember mentioning if she was certain, I'd love to have it, just tell me what she wanted for it and I offered to buy it. Of course, being the friend that she is, she was like ".... no. I want you to have it for your birthday!" Once again, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In all honesty, I really would not have been surprised to hear her say she had a change of heart and desired to keep it and I could not have blamed her.

Once loaded into our truck, Sheila had to stop me on my way out of their door to hand me a "doggie bag" of animal crackers for Don. The two of them had spent the early afternoon snacking on them and making wise cracks about their shapes while waiting for dinner. As our hands touched reaching for that baggie filled with love, so did our hearts fill with love for one another. She is quite a woman, I thought to myself, knowing no words would ever need to be spoken as she feels the same about me. Friendships like these are so hard to find, a gem hidden away somewhere sacred, just waiting to be discovered, grown, nurtured, and cherished... and both of us do cherish it with all our hearts and our souls. We're bond by threads woven from the same cloth, just like a crazy quilt, only this one is called "life, love, and friendship."

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