Friends for the Ages

As I was cleaning up my newly acquired office/guest room - thanks to the marriage of my youngest - I stumbled upon some old memory items.

An old note... a newer card... and a homemade sign. All reminders of friendships that have spanned space and time and will always be. It made me smile to think about how our friendships change, swirl, taper, fill, add and grow. It amazes me of how at times we can spend almost every weekend playing games with one couple a number of years ago, and now, we hope to see each other once a year... if we are lucky. Or how cousins that were 'much much' older than me and never gave me a second glance or were forced to babysit me, are now some of my closest friends. Some friends were made in high school and no matter what, will always be friends. Some friends we made through our jobs/careers or through our kids or with our neighbours or through church. What is fantastic about friends is that it feels like even if years separate you, it feels like yesterday when you get together over a cup of hot coffee and coffee cake.

One of these items in particular brought back the days of handwritten letters. Letters that were written back and forth while in MCI (Mennonite College Institute, Gretna, MB). At MCI I lived in dorm and many, many hours were spent writing letters - not just any letters - but letters with magazine pictures, cartoons, paragraphs written backwords or in circles - sometimes coloured pens, sometimes just simple blue ink.

This letter in particular was from an older MCI Alum and good friend, Ron Penner. He would write me amazing letters that must have taken him hours to write! Loved receiving those letters while waiting in the cafeteria for lunch. Do we spend much time together now? Unfortunately, no, but when we do we laugh and have a great time.

The card comes from my life post 'teenage kids'. It is from a friend that i knew as a child but didn't hang out with until the days of SOAR Heartland (MB Mission). Those spring breaks spent with a church full of teenage kids, high energy, deep faith talks, late nights of singing, laughing and crying - created some very tight friendships. I loved my chats with Shauna Priebe. We laughed and cried. She listened to my frustration with adults who didn't wash their coffee cups. One day, this card arrived in the mail and it says, "Some people look at the glass and say its Half Full, others look at the glass and say its Half Empty." Open up the card and it says, "You look at the glass and say, "Can't anyone pick up after themselves around here?" HAHA! She knows me sooooo well. And we only tend to get together that one week a year!

The last sign is a bit of a weird story as it is a gift for someone. It is a gift that i have had in my possession for over a year. Peter Wiens is our realtor (Sutton Group!) and our friend. He is the guy we call when Tammy starts to get the itch to try something new. Peter has patience of a saint and after showing us over 70+ houses, he still smiled, gave me a hug and laughed with us. We don't get to see him much when we aren't purchasing a home, but, again, when we do we feel right at ease. PS. The sign? in one of the homes he showed us there was a sign like this in their living room. Peter loved it! So as a thank you for all his patience and help, I had Jozanna make one for him. (So, Peter, if you read this... surprise!!) But life moves along quickly and we have not seen him since we bought our house! But when we meet again... we will laugh at the sign and give each other a hug.

Make lots of friends!!! You may not see them all the time - but good friends are always friends! Here's to making more, keeping what i have, and spending lots of time with friends in 2017!!