Monday, December 28, 2009

Kindred Spirits

I'm reading on a whole lot of blogs about all the industrious people out there who take down their tree and put everything away in the first few days after Christmas. What is up with that? We normally put everything away New Year's weekend but we may even wait until the week after New Years Day this year. I feel like it took me most of the month to get it all perfectly in place and I'm just not ready to pack it all up yet.

We've had a relaxing few days...My husband bought himself the girls a Wii for Christmas so we're going to have the girls show us how to play that today. We've done a little shopping and on Sunday afternoon we went to see Sherlock Holmes. I'm not a huge Jude Law fan but he and Robert Downey were both really good in this and they made a great team. We all enjoyed the movie.

Last night some old friends invited us to their home for dinner. Way back in 1991 daughter1 started preschool two mornings a week. We were living in NJ then too, in a town about a half an hour away from where we live now. Daughter1 was sweet. Very very sweet. As a toddler she was not one to dive into anything...she was reserved but observant....a thoughtful little girl who always seemed wise when it came to understanding people. She is still very much that child. Adult.

Anyway, on her very first day of preschool she and another little girl, also feeling a little bit hesitant, met and in that instant a friendship was born. And their little friendship was one of the absolute sweetest things in the world to witness...C's mom and I used to say that it reminded us of something we had in college...we had never seen two young children connect like these two little cuties did at the tender age of 3 1/2. They were kindred spirits from the moment they said hello.


We moved from NJ to Maryland when daughter1 was only six years old but these two girls remained friends. Every summer they'd spend a week at each others houses and every summer they'd pick right back up where they'd left off the summer before. We moved overseas when daughter1 turned 15 years old so the visits stopped. We traded Christmas cards but fell mostly out of touch...life happens. Then in the summer of 2007 we were in the area and decided to just knock on their door and say hello. When children move thru their teens and on into their young adult selves you wonder if a friendship born at the age of three will still be there and we were a little bit nervous as we waited on their front porch. There was no need to feel anxious though...they were home, invited us in and again, it was like we'd never been apart. And they also just happened to have a trip to London planned for that Christmas so we all ended up ringing in the New Year of 2008 together at our home in England.

And so now here we are, nearly 2010... we are once again living in NJ some 15+ years after we moved away...all the girls are home from university for the Christmas holiday so we got the families together for dinner last night. And the girls still talk a mile a minute and they still share a connection that is oh so sweet. There is no awkwardness, no uncomfortable silences...just chatter and smiles and laughter.


Kindred spirits still.

7 comments:

  1. For me...I do not want to put it all away, yet. I am still enjoying it. Actually, I am a bit strange. Even when we take the decorations through out the house, the wreaths and out door decorations down, I will leave my tree up in our living room. We enjoy it year round and actually add ornaments to it through out the year. For instance, this past summer I went to the Botanical Gardens with a friend to see the butterflies. While we were there, we went in the gift shop and I bought a beautiful butterfly ornament to remind me of our special time together. I have a couple of beach ornaments that I added during last summer. I enjoy looking at the ornaments that represent special times in my life...the times when GOD has blessed me through HIS creation.
    Blessings, andrea

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  2. We packed it all up last night. My daughter's birthday is on 12/31, so I like to switch into birthday mode. My mom's doesn't get put away until like the end of January. She is ridiculous and has like 12 trees though.

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  3. I'm still enjoying our Christmas decorations too, but since I'm off work today I am trying to get in the mood to take it all down.
    We'll be busy the next few days and then next week I'll be back to work.
    So.....I'd better get in the mood here in a little while. :/

    It's neat that your daughter and her friend have stayed friends all these years and have such special preschool memories. I love the little song that says "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."
    I have some amazing friends from my past that I share priceless memories with and then I have all the new friends that are so precious.

    Thanks for sharing this sweet story. Continue enjoying your time with family and friends.

    Love,
    Valerie

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  4. I love friendships that last through the years...maybe it's because we often grow apart as we age or move into new phases of life. This post really brightened my day.

    (And it certainly doesn't hurt to know that someone else isn't jumping to take everything down yet!)

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  5. Kindred spirits are so amazing. I think that only happens once or twice in a lifetime, if at all.

    I haven't taken my Christmas decorations down yet, but I feel strongly they will probably be down by this weekend. I'm ready to move into January!

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  6. Joyce,

    For me, this year is the exception for taking down the directions a bit earlier than normal. I just need to take them down as it has become a bit depressing since it wasn't really the Christmas I needed so for me, it will aid in my healing. For me right now, it reminds me of things needing to be put away and organized for a much better celebration next year when I can hopefully celebrate my healing!

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

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  7. I'm with you on taking the stuff down during New Year's weekend!

    What a beautiful friendship daughter1 found at such a tender age. I love how God continues to bring them together and they pick up right where they left off. That kind of friendship is rare and wonderful. I met my very best friend at the age of 10 and, though we have been apart mostly since the age of 18, life is all the sweeter when we are back together. Speaking of her, she'll be here in February. Yay!

    Happy New Year, Joyce!

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