Monday, July 16, 2007

We're back!

You didn't even know I was gone, did you?

We headed south (not far south: we were still in Nebraska, and no one had an accent) and visited some dear friends named -- uh, oh ... I haven't given them blog names. Hmmm. I think I'll call them Clive and Joy (can you guess the reason?)

Anyway, Clive and Joy are hosts beyond compare. They treat us like kings and queens (or, given that Atticus is the only male in the family, like a king and his queen and little princesses.) Anne-with-an-e noted, "Aunt Joy is a great cook. I can't wait to see what she'll make for us!"

I always have that same joyful anticipation, though not just for the food. It's true that Joy knows that feeding = loving. (I know it, too, but I'm just not as good at it. I sometimes tend to love by proxy, letting someone else do the cooking, such as, say, a pizza delivery place. That doesn't mean I love any less, just that I'm less talented than some of my dear friends.) But, Joy and Clive also know that nothing beats open-ended, unstructured time with good friends. Add some good conversation, a dash of wine, a favorite beer, happy children, water fights, s'mores and lots of shared memories, and you have a recipe for a great weekend.

Thank you, Clive and Joy, for fifteen years of friendship and for your always superb and gracious entertaining.

And now, because we were gone all weekend, I'm off to love my family in a different way:

I'm headed to the laundry room.

5 comments:

Jill said...

I'm glad you had a wonderful time. How lovely to be enveloped in such warm kinship.
And now, prayers for you as you dive into the laundry pile. :)

coffeemamma said...

I must love my family a *a lot* then...

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I've been a lurker here for ages (I love to visit a few blogs on a regular basis, but never seem to have the time to comment! I feel guilty about that... ). I'll be checking back in often as I plan for September!

Alice Gunther said...

Yes, actually, I was missing you!

Good to have you back!

nutmeg said...

Clive and Joy... (sigh) I wish I had known the Real C.S. and his lovely wife. LOVE the movie!

And if your friends are like them, its no wonder you had such a lovely time!

Glad you're back!

:)

Suzanne Temple said...

Sounds like a great time and hey, I'm right there with you in the laundry room.