The Value of Friends

As I've cruised through my day today, I find my thoughts drifting to friends and what they mean to me. I think about the times friends have called to chat and I've either put them off or not answered the phone (that hasn't happened tooo often in all honesty because I love to talk on the phone!) I've also wondered if I've been as good a friend as people have been to me.

I think about this past weekend when my dear friends invited me to Spacetacular in Concord on Saturday. I was driving up on Friday with my daughter and son to spend the weekend. We've done this kind of thing before so it's nothing new. On Friday night Cedar calls to tell me that she hates to say it but she's not feeling all that snappy and "I'm calling off this weekend". I was sad that I wouldn't get to see her and all the kids. As she listed the reasons why I couldn't come, I thought, she needs a pep talk. So I proceeded to acknowledge all her reasons and ask if she was totally sure I couldn't come up anyhow and give her a needed hand. After a few minutes, she changed her mind and said sure, c'mon up! You don't care if the dishes aren't done do you? I replied, NAAAH... You know me..if it bothers me, I'll just wash them! (which I did!).

On Friday night, after I arrived and got my kids settled for bed, I sat with her and talked about anything on her mind. I also offered to take two of her four kids with me to Spacetacular (one is only 9 months old, the other was on punishment). She gave it some thought, and said SURE as long as you don't mind. MIND?! ME? Nah! I just wanted her to have some time to chillax (my version of chilling out and relaxing).

Saturday I had a ball with the four kids while she stayed home with her other two. The baby ended up at the ER with a nice earache. It never ends with kids, does it? I tried as best I could to help her out and not make it a hardship to have three extra people in the house. We cooked together, worked together to get the kids into bed, and then shared a nice bottle of beer before we both crashed for the night.

I hope she knows how much I love coming to her house. Being around her puts a joy in my heart I can't describe. I don't know if it's because she lets me help, and doesn't get all paranoid about the condition of her house. I've told her dozens of times - I don't come to visit the house; I come to visit YOU! I've also asked if she minds my help - sometimes I know I feel insulted when someone starts picking up things at my house - she says no and I'm confident she means it. My heart is in the right place - I just want to make things easier for her. I remember what it was like to be home with small children all day, and the effort it takes to keep the house tidy and no grown up conversation. She's lucky though - because there are several days her husband is home so she has other adult conversation available.