Sunday evening proved to be the most enjoyable evening. As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, from beginning to end, the day could not have been better. My blog yesterday dealt with Sunday morning. As Paul Harvey often said: “And now, for the rest of the story.”
The General and I stopped for a brief visit with friends around 5:30 p.m. to look at the new water feature constructed in stone in the home’s courtyard and the newly completed landscape around their pool.
When we arrived, we bypassed the home and headed to the side yard as per the instructions received via text. They were outside at the pool. One of their grandsons and three of his high school friends were swimming.
Our friends were seated at a table on the patio. The weather was perfect for enjoying the outdoors and taking in the serenity of the Texas Hill Country.
Had our visit been brief, we would have left before the guys who were swimming. As it turned out, we stayed long after they left.
It proved to be a déjà vu kind of experience and too meaningful to abbreviate with a brief visit. In the resources of my memory, the years evaporated and rolled back the time. I suspect the experience was true for all of us.
Forty-three years ago, we often enjoyed shared time in the home of our friends. They lived in a different home back then, but the serenity of the outdoors where one could soak in the beauty of God’s creation was the same.
They joy of one day having grandchildren was a distant concept beyond anything we could begin to imagine. In fact, it wasn’t anything we even paused to consider. Their son was eight-years-old, and ours was seven. Both fell in the “only child” designation.
I was thirty-two years old at the time. My how the years have changed a lot of things including the color of my hair. Of course, Craig credits his sister as having something to do with that. I was thirty-four when she was born and almost overnight the gray began to surface.
Sunday evening proved to be a déjà experience, but it highlighted the reality that the thing of greatest value is the 43-year relationship that we’ve shared. This couple have enriched our lives greatly, and I’d like to think there has been a sense of reciprocity in that.
People need people. I’m grateful that what we shared will not dissipate with the passing of time. Our friendship obviously is forever.
Of course, it will take effort going forward to be available and be responsive to emerging needs that take their toll on older adults. What we’ve shared has been a gift. It is far too precious to let go of on this side of eternity.
All My Best!
Don
Carpe Diem 