Friends

As we have started our homeschooling journey, it has opened up a new community of fellow homeschoolers. Most of these friends are people I have never met in person; we email here and there and share ideas. These interactions have kept me motivated and ready to keep up with all the demands of this choice for education. But a few weeks ago, we had such a treat! One of the ladies I have spent the most time emailing with--Meagan--and her sweet family were able to come and visit with us here at our home!

It's funny how we came to be friends. I actually dated Meagan's husband for a short bit right after I turned 16. But he went on his mission, and I went on to my hooligan years. A few years later, I remember hearing him gush over the incredible woman he had met out at school. They went on to get married, and I eventually went on to meet my own incredible husband. While we were both fairly newly weds I stumbled upon their blog page. We've watched each others children grow, and as we both reached school-age years I could tell we were heading toward the same choice of homeschooling. After getting in contact with her, we started emailing in a group of homeschooling moms and have been doing so for a few years now. Beyond our emails, Meagan set up for our girls to become pen pals. So even our children had started a friendship and knew of each other.

A few weeks ago I got an email. A funeral for a family member was bringing their family here to Massachusetts. Since we were going to be in the same state (instead of 3000 miles away), Meagan asked if we had any time free to get together. I am so glad that we did! We had such a fun evening letting the kids all play together and getting to visit in person. I am a goober and took no pictures--I was having too much fun visiting--but it was a great evening!

Even though it was freezing, the kids all ventured outside to meet the animals. We eventually found them all INSIDE the filthy chicken coop. Ooops! We then shuffled them in where they switched gears to playing fairy and all sorts of other imaginative games. They pretty much kept themselves entertained while we talked about life. We covered our goals, dreams, challenges, and joys. We also had fun talking about our pasts. The time went too quickly, and I found myself so glad we had had the time to visit and sad that it can't happen more regularly.

I'm grateful for friends, new and old, in person and through technology. This world is just full of wonderful people.