Wednesday

I will give myself credit for this much: I do not under-appreciate my good friends. I love them, I look forward to all my moments with them and I would do a lot if I thought it would contribute to their happiness. 

Many people think of friends as wells into which they can pour their troubled woes. And I know this is an important function that close friends can play. Some people are also talented in listening in return  -- this of course is beautiful: you share a life's journey. Intimacy grows. You have a bond that's deep and enduring.

Me, I'm a little different in that I am not a woe sharer. It's not that I hide troubles, but they would have to be pretty big for me to want to unload. 

So what role do friends play for me? Why are they so important?

I enjoy them. It's that simple. They distract me from myself! I love the exchange of information. The story telling. The challenge of finding ways to make them laugh. I love it when they, too, find pleasure in our friendship: they understand what brings out a smile (and of course, you know enough about them to understand what makes them smile). The pleasure is in doing things together, in stepping outside of your troubles and releasing yourself into the flow of the moment. With joy. Or at least with a smile.

I have a friend like that in town -- one whom I have known exactly as long as Ocean has been in the works (because I met her through her husband who started blogging at the same time I did). This morning, we met up for a walk together. 

First, though, there is the usual stuff: morning barn walk, breakfast with Ed.

Then I'm off, to the local park. 

Our walk is longer than the ones I tend to take with Ed (she clocked it at 3.5 miles) and so this was a bit of a challenge for me: can I move beyond the usual 40 minutes with that fake knee? 

I can. And we do, and we see birds and cranes and herons and it is all so beautiful!

The air is warm once again and I'm glad we did all this before noon. The knee held up, the pleasure in her company was there as expected - it was a fine start to the day!

In the afternoon, I uncoiled the hose. Just a few spots to douse, and of course the tubs need a drink. Another stable hot front has moved into the Upper Midwest and there is zero rain in the forecast. I know what I'll be doing in the days ahead!

Toward evening, I meet up with the young family at a baseball diamond. Snowdrop is on a softball team and today is their first game of the season. I've come to watch.

So have these two!

(on the field)

It makes me happy that these kids have such a broad range of interests. Childhood isn't the time to place limits based on some imagined aspirational skill set of personality type. Now is the time to be the dilettante, the adventurer. To sample, to enjoy. 

(up next!)

It's a lovely evening! 

("good game!")

At home, I cook up some chili -- ready for us when Ed comes home from his weekly biking. Hot chili on a hot day! perfect, don't you think?

with love...