a weekend full of fun

What a fun weekend we had with tom and rikki!

The morning couldn't have greeted me in any better way. the haze that has enveloped our city of late was hiding from the gleaming sun that was peeking behind the mountains to our east. The sky was clear, highlighting every pine tree on the mountain. a blue sky topped off a beautiful scene. Emma came bounding out of her room, arms outstretched proudly singing in a monotone voice, "I'm in the Lord's Army, I'm in the Lord's army!" over and over again. I had popped in a batch of blueberry muffins so tom and rikki could get something in their tummies before their 6am departure, and there were still some leftover, beckoning to me with their warm, berry scents.

And yet, something felt a little unsettled in my heart.

Maybe one reason is that emma was so sad to see them leave. Last night we had a talk with emma and told her that ashley and abigail had to go back to america. Emma's eyes widened, as if approaching some hideously scary something, and then a flicker of resolution crossed her face. "No momma. Abigail and ashley no america. Abigail and ashley stay at emma's house."

And so began one of many talks we will likely have wihth her about friendship and moving on. She had so much fun playing with the girls while they were here. Ashley and abigail (5 and 3, respectively) were so kind to emma, playing so sweetly and including her in all their big girl activities. Emma watched them with adoration, copying every word they said. Her vocabulary and mannerisms changed quite a bit while they here. Her sentences became longer, more thought out. She tried some brave activities involving her slide that she didn't know were possible unless a five year old showed you how! She acted like a big girl with the big girls, and loved every minute of it. I was so happy she had a friend, and an older friend, too.

thankfully, the new family about to move here also has an almost five year old, I think. Maybe emma and savannah will become fast friends, too...but my heart cried when she was so sad to see her new friends leave. Now ashley and abigail aren't second-hand stories, or two-dimensional pictures on our computer. They are friends that love to laugh and slide and drink juice and hold hands and sing songs. They are real to emma.

Maybe another reason I felt a little unsettled after they left this morning was because they were leaving. In the past when we hosted people, we always left with them because we lived far out in the countryside. We always had to take them to the big city, or help them to the airport or whatever, so when we returned, it felt like, "Aaaah, we're coming home." But we didnt' leave anywhere this morning, we just arranged a taxi and gave long goodbye hugs. And then from my 10th floor window, I watched them drive off in the quiet morning clearness.

But maybe the real reason is that I enjoyed their company so much. Living overseas actually makes it easier to make friends because you have so few foreigners who live out here, it just doesn't seem worthwhile to have superficial relationships. but we have only a small handful of friends like tom and rikki. They have given us guidance and wisdom as we grew up, and then at some point decided that we had grown up and were a peer. They have seen us at our worst and still thought we were worthwhile enough to endure with...they have seen us at our best and rejoiced with us at where we were. They have let us into their lives and because of that have become a force for speaking truth into our lives. Shared history, shared relationships, common experiences...factors that make you feel comfortable enough to not worry if your breath stinks or if you wore your pajamas all day, or if they overheard you ask someone if they have a nervous disorder because of the way they drive their car. :)

It felt a little weird to know that they were going back to a life that we used to have, where they eat chocolate donuts and drive to the park, and go to starbucks with friends. But, it made me really happy that they shared my life with me - eating homemade cinnamon rolls and asianese food, taking the bus to the overcrowded parks, relishing a special dinner at pizza hut, moseying down the endless promenade of the city square.

It was a fast weekend, but it was fun.

the sun is shining through the windows, gradually bringing its warmth to our cool floors. emma is happily moving her arms to dora's request to move like a jaguar. mantha is sleeping peacefully for her morning nap. I'm slowly devouring the rubbermaid tub of chocolate doughnuts that were bestowed on me by rikki. My house helper is busily cleaning up the fun from the weekend - dirty sheets, loads of trash, dishes I was too tired to finish, burnt crusty things that fell inside the oven. This is my life now, and I'm thankful for it.