Gratituesday: Meeting an Old Friend for the First Time

One of the things I love about our history curriculum, Tapestry of Grace (TOG), is the on-line support I receive from other moms using the curriculum in their homeschools.  The TOG Yahoo Group, Loose Threads, has provided me with a wealth of information on using TOG, homeschooling, parenting, preparing meals, and so many other topics.  More than anything else, though, it has graced me with a host of wonderful friends:  like-minded women who love homeschooling their children, but understand the need for encouragement and support; women who love the Lord, and are always willing to offer up a prayer of support, encouragement, forgiveness, or praise at one time or another; women who, as any good friend would, are not afraid to encourage, suggest, and at times, even rebuke, always with love, kindness, and an overwhelming dose of faith.

This holiday weekend, Patrick, Connor, and I had the opportunity to meet one of my dear TOG cyberfriends in person.  Alisha and her family have been traveling up and down the East Coast and yesterday, they stopped in the next town over to get together with some of their friends from the old days.  Alisha and her husband have been friends with some of these folks since college, with most of them since their pre-children days… and there we were.  

Before yesterday, I only knew Alisha from our on-line chats and e-mails.  I had never met her, her husband, her children, or any of her friends.  I joked with a neighborhood friend on Sunday night about the picnic we were going to attend the next day.  I said, “So, I’m going to go up to the door of folks I have never met and say, ‘Hi, I’m here for the picnic for Alisha and Jeff.  Could you please point them out to me?  I’ve never met them.'”

I needn’t have worried, however.  We walked up to the door and Alisha answered… and I knew her right away!  And when we started talking, I felt like I had known her forever.  And when Jeff and his college buddies talked about days gone by, I didn’t feel excluded at all.  In fact, the guys went out of their way to make sure to include both Patrick and myself.

 

Connor played beautifully with Alisha’s two boys, Caleb and Nathan, and the hosts’ daughter, Lizzie.  Talk of being trapped in alternate universes and prototypes flew back and forth between the boys, and except for one misunderstanding when Prototype Number 3 was destroyed before Prototype Number 4 was ready for construction, the play went on without incident.

As we drove home, Connor stated emphatically, “That was FUN!”  Patrick and I both agreed!  I can’t remember the last time we’ve attended a get-together that we’ve ALL enjoyed so much!  So this Gratituesday, I’m thankful for the hospitality and generosity of these friends that made our time together yesterday seem not as though we were meeting new friends, but more as if we were meeting old friends… for the first time!

Visit Laura over at Heavenly Homemakers to find
more reasons to be grateful this Gratituesday!