We just can’t seem to get back on track. Either I’m not feeling well, or my husband’s not feeling well, or it’s cold or raining, or any combination of these things. After my husband paid all that money to have the hydraulic cable repaired on his camper, while preparing to repair the canvas which the mice find to be tasty snack, the rollers on the pull out bed broke eliminating the ability to push the bed back in, or close and lock the lid (?) And he’s still dealing with his back issue and out in the driveway tugging and pounding on the camper rails didn’t do anything to help him. When I asked him if he wanted to do something for our Monday, he looked pathetically at me and said “no”. I certainly understand that.

So instead of he and I doing anything special, I went to breakfast with my neighbor. She and I have been close friends since I moved into the neighborhood thirty years ago. Her husband was the first person I met when he came down while we were moving in to introduce himself. One of the first things he said was that his wife babysat. That really got my attention because I was looking for a new babysitter. Turned out, her daughter and my son were a year apart in age. She readily took on my son who was two years old at the time.  I had my second son a year or so after we had moved into the neighborhood but she told me she just couldn’t take another baby, so I found another sitter. He ended up with her anyway when I told her how his babysitter would often be sitting on the front step with him and his diaper bag waiting for me to arrive and send him home in a urine-soaked diaper.

We decided to go to Denny’s. We’ve known each other long enough that we know each other’s brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and friends and church associations. I sometimes feel like she is the sister I never had. We sat there sipping our coffee waiting for our breakfast and began talking. I took her into confidence about a family issue I was dealing with and she began talking about her niece who is terminally ill. We were a pair. Both of us sniffling over our coffee.  Once our breakfast was served, we managed to enjoy the rest of our meal and talk of other more pleasant things. We ended up at Hobby Lobby walking the aisles and looking at all the things we didn’t need. And what’s really special about our friendship, even though we sometimes go months without speaking, it never feels as though it’s been more than a few weeks.

So even though my husband and I didn’t get to spend special time together, it was a special day nonetheless because I got to spend some of it with my very dear friend.