At one point, I told Sarah a little story about my mom and the tender mercies of the Lord in the situation. Well, after they had left, I thought about what a tender mercy it was to have had that playdate with her and her boys.
Sarah is moving across the country, and I'm equal parts excited for her, jealous of the new adventure she gets to have, and sad that I won't be able to see her for a long time. It's not like we've been living in the same town...not for several years now...but there were always times we were able to get together, even if months separated those times.
Her oldest son is my son's first non-family friend and will always hold a special place in my heart because of that. We have a picture of them laying side by side when they were just a few months old (he's older than Matt by 3 months) that is super cute. I think they'd be bestest friends if they ever lived close enough to spend enough time together.
Anyhoo, it was a balm to my lately mildly-troubled soul to spend time with Sarah today. She's a mom that is in similar circumstances as me; a stay-at home mom with young kids, my age, having been single and childless for a significant part of her adult life. It's funny, but those things make a difference. She can relate to what I'm feeling in a way others haven't been able to because her experiences have been similar. Talking to her, letting out my emotions and feelings, felt good. I hate to say it, but I felt validated for feeling how I do sometimes. (Steve and I mock the contestants on Chopped when they say they're competing in order to feel validated.) Staying at home is my choice, and I make it again practically every day, especially when a job at SUU opens up that piques my interest, but it's hard for me. My brain isn't 100% sure why it's hard, but I struggle with it sometimes. Talking to Sarah, she understood how I felt, understood why I felt that way, and made me feel okay for feeling that way. She even gave me insights as to why that I hadn't even realized.
We talked about lots of stuff, and I could have kept talking to her for hours and hours, like we used to when we were younger and single, but our boys were tired, cranky, and in serious need of naps, so I had to say goodbye. I just hope she realizes how much I love her and how much good being with her did me today.
You know, I don't always love new technology and how it affects human interaction and communication (ugh Facebook!), but I am so thankful for email and blogs and texts and long distance phone calls that will allow me to communicate with her, as well as other friends and family that I love and who don't live close to.
Heck, though, I may start writing letters!
Julie :)
 |
| Matt and Daniel - October 2015 How cute that they both wore orange today!! |
2 comments:
How fun to visit with Sarah and her little boys! We should get together more often, maybe once football is over we could have a girls night.
Julie, I felt exactly the same way and I am so touched by this post! Thank you!! And I'll definitely give you my address... once my landlord tells me what it is! (I guess it is a new apartment that has never received mail before. She has to go ask the post office about it.)
Post a Comment