Celebrations with friends.

Well, the last two days have been filled with celebrations with friends...old friends and even older friends, not in age so much but just in years of sharing with each other.  Sometimes it is quite shameful that we do not see each other more often.  However, no matter how long between our visits, two blinks of the eyes and it is like we have never been separated.

Rebecca, Alice's daughter hosted our probably 45th annual Christmas celebration.  Ruth Ann, Me (in case you don't recognize me with my Santa shirt in the picture), Ruthie (Ruth Ann's mom and matriarch to all of us) and Alice have been the best of friends since I was 16.  I just cannot understand why Ruth Ann and Alice''s hair is not that beautiful "almost blonde" (some have the audacity to refer to it as gray) hair like Ruthie and me.  About 1966 is when I came into the picture with this unruly group.  I think Alice and Ruth have been friends since grade school.  Of course, Ruthie has always been there to guide, advise and love us through this hard thing called life.  My kids and Grand-kids have always thought of her as "Grandma Ruthie".  And she is just that.. a wonderful matriarchal figure for all of us whom we love and respect.  I love them all more than I can say and don't see any of them as much as I should.  Our children have grown up friends and hopefully will continue to be good friends until we are all in wheelchairs.

We have survived thick and thin and will continue to do so.  We have been together in our marriages, births of our babies, deaths in our families and so much joy with each other for far too many years to remember.  I know when these ladies are in my presence, that I will be joyful and thankful for them always for their love and friendship.  Life has treated us all good and sometimes not so good in one way or the other because of illnesses and deaths.  We are all strong and together, we put our faith in God and have always survived those tough times and will continue to do so with our love strengthening each other.  Through these wonderful times and the hard times, life has also tied an invisible thread through our hearts looping them together and it is a string that we know will never be broken.  The love we share would be hard to duplicate.

It is almost beyond words what I feel for these women, these friends of 45+ years.  I truly wish for more time with each of them in the coming year and another 45+ years of celebrations of life's joys and holidays with them.

Today was another celebration with friends.  These too are long time friends.  My friend Opal and I took our friend Jean to lunch for her 65th birthday.  Jean's friend, Giana, her daughter, Stacy and granddaughter, Courtney joined us to celebrate.  Jean and Opal are much like my other friends.  They make me laugh and we have been through happy times and some sad times in the past 30+ years. They both are sweet beyond any expectations of a friend.  They have listened to me, laughed with me and cried with me in the last 30 years.  I've know Stacy and Courtney almost all their life and Giana for probably 15 years.  

It seems God has blessed me so graciously with friends, longtime friends and many newer friends like my quilting friends.  I feel so lucky to have family and friends so close to me sharing my life.  My wish for all my friends is to always have relationships with other women that mean something and to have friends that not only love them but support them but make them laugh when life throws us curves.

Here is Jean with her big Mexican hat and waiter trying to light the candle.  Also, here is Opal giving Jean something we all need...a little helping hand from our friends. :)  Until we meet again...........