An Old Friend and a Big Store
This morning we had to rush a little to get ready for the drive over to Flynn’s house, where we found the girls eating breakfast. Today wasn’t a school day for Paisley, so we played with the girls until it was time for them to go to their dentist appointment and time for me to leave for my visit with my friend Val.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but this is one of the weirder coincidences in my life. Back in 2008, when I first brought three of my kids for the annual get-together of their online teen writers’ group, we were put up in various homes around town. (This is how I met and became friends with Jane—Mary and I stayed with her.) And the very first evening, the whole group was invited to have supper at the home of Luke and Rachel, two of the members.
I was already in introvert hell, jammed in with dozens of teenagers whom I didn’t know, along with a few parents who, like me, had provided transportation. I kept trying to find a place where I could be invisible, but the house and deck were so crowded there really wasn’t a place to escape. I somehow ended up sitting at a little table in the kitchen. Rachel (one of the two members whose home it was) sat down across from me and engaged me in conversation.
In the course of a very few minutes, it came out that I had grown up in Africa. The conversation went something like this:
Her: “You grew up in Africa? My mom grew up in Africa! What country were you in?”
Me: “Zambia.”
Her: “Really? My mom went to boarding school in Zambia!”
Me (thinking): There’s only one boarding school in Zambia she could have gone to, and it’s the same one I went to.
Her: “Mom! Come over here!”
Her mother came over to sit down at the table and as soon as I got a good look at her I knew exactly who she was. She and her sister had indeed gone to the same boarding school at the same time. So that’s how Val and I reconnected in Colorado after knowing each other as children in Zambia.
I don’t see her every time I come here, but I really wanted to see her this time and it worked out well since the girls had to go to the dentist anyway. So I drove over to her house and we sat and chatted over tea in her living room. From my chair I had a spectacular view of Pike’s Peak through the front window. (They live quite a bit closer to the mountains than Flynn does.)
We have both gone through some really hard times in recent years, and it felt good to be really heard by an old friend, and to be able to offer my sympathy and understanding in return. I wish I saw her more often and will certainly be praying for her more often.
I tore myself away a little after noon and headed back to Flynn’s house, where the girls were finishing their lunch. During their quiet time, I did all the repairs on the other crocheted animal:
A very tedious job and I hope my repairs will hold for a while.
Meanwhile, Walter was working on a cat gate for Tiffany’s mom, and he got that done in the garage while Flynn was in the basement working.
As soon as the girls got up we piled into the van and headed to a gigantic sporting goods store. The first thing you see when you enter is a gigantic salt water aquarium consisting of three towers and a rectangular crosspiece, so the fish can swim from tower to tower. Ellie was fascinated and enjoyed chasing one particular fish around and around.
There was an indoor Ferris wheel which, alas, we didn’t have time to ride, but we did make it to the skittles alley where Flynn, Paisley, and Walter tried their luck. Walter won. From there we went to a huge display of mounted taxidermy, with everything from bears to otters to a bald eagle.
Flynn had promised the girls that we would stop and buy donuts on the way home, and we did. However, there was a major meltdown in the car when Flynn went into the donut shop alone and didn’t take Paisley with him. That was a long ten minutes or so!
Tomorrow is our last day here and I’m hoping it goes well. Our time here has sped by.
Parting Shot:
Val and me.