Friendship...True Friendship is PRICELESS!

I'm like my mom.  I guess that is not surprising since I'm her daughter, but sometimes it really amazes me how much I am like her.  And my boys, well, are going to be just like me and their grandma.  I guess it is not because I'm raising them or that my mom raised me...it is because of what we have seen "modeled" time and again.

Family takes care of family....

Friends take care of friends....

I have always taken care of friends.  If I had the means and had what you needed...it quickly was gotten to my friends and freely "given".  From high school to college, my friends were my priority.

I'm now a mom and we have been so blessed to call many elderly people "friends".  My two oldest grew up looking "up" under Mrs. Thorn's quilt rack.  She would quilt a queen sized quilt, COMPLETELY by hand, in four weeks.  Yes, she completed twelve a year.  And each day, my boys checked on her and brought her mail into her.  Often, she would be taking a "little" nap when they quietly put the mail on her dining room table.  She invested time in my boys.  She taught them about quilting, but more importantly, she taught them about life and serving our Savior.

Then there was "Bob".  We had him over year after year for Thanksgiving.  And we NEVER knew how many people would be coming for Thanksgiving which always made it fun and exciting!  The second time Bob joined our family he called Thanksgiving morning and asked if he could bring some family.  I asked how many and I think it was 6 extra.  I took a "deep" breathe and said...bring them over.  That was the first of many Thanksgivings with Bob's family.  We honestly never knew how many would come on those Thursdays, but we always had left overs and plenty of seats.  It was a few Thanksgivings ago that we were driving down the road and I asked each of the boys to complete the following sentence:  It would not be Thanksgiving without ______________.  I wanted to make sure that what ever would make Thanksgiving special for each of my boys would happen because these are special times....special memories.  My second oldest said, "It would not be Thanksgiving without Mr. McClellan."  I assured him that would not be a problem as I had already called Bob and left a message on his machine.  Not that we needed to because he had a "standing invitation" for dinner every Tuesday night and every year at Thanksgiving.  But as I have learned, it is always nice to "hear the invitation".  I'm glad I called and left the message on the machine that year.  You see, Bob passed away the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  The family was having a small "family" funeral since Bob was being buried on his property.  They checked his answering machine and heard my message and called to let us know that Bob had passed away.  His funeral was the day before Thanksgiving.  We did not have Thanksgiving that year.

We often talk about Bob and Mrs. Thorn.  They invested in my children and my children will be better citizens thanks to them "investing" in my family.

Recently we had another friend in need.  My oldest left summer camp to help.  My husband and second oldest had already packed and made plans to travel the 500 miles one way to help finish a wheel chair ramp.  Unfortunately, that late afternoon, the friend they had planned on helping passed away.  What a shock!  So instead, I took my two oldest over and they had their tools.  They were going to finish the ramp that needed finishing and whatever "else" needed to be done.  Those plans changed once we arrived and we helped in other ways.  We did what needed to be done...not what we wanted to do.  We put our friend's needs and feelings above ours.  You see...that is what friends do. 

After we returned home, my oldest played a song for me.  He said, "mama, this is us".  It does not matter the cost nor the distance, if we have friends in need, we are going to help.  I told him he was correct.  There is no excuse...take care of your friends...put their needs FIRST...that is what we are supposed to do.

So here are some lyrics of the song:

You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are....

The song is by Tracy Lawrence and titled, Find Out Who Your Friends Are.  When you open the link, you will see Artist, Song, Album.  By "Song", you will see a play arrow.  Just hit that and you will hear the song.

Find Out Who Your Friends Are

Take a moment and listen to this song.  And think about your friends.  Give them a call today...
tell them hello...
check to make sure they are doing okay...
and if they need anything...
go do what needs "doing"...
just because...
that is what friends do.

Neighbors and Friends

One of the nice things of being a homesteader is being able to 'visit' with friends.  It seems to me, that when I lived in the city, that I did not even know my neighbor's name, much less where they worked. 

I remember when my husband and I moved to the country how our neighbors would just stop by and leave "welcome gifts".  Often, when we arrived home from work, there would be a note on our front door with a package of food on the steps.  The note always said how they were disappointed that they missed us and how they hoped that we would meet soon.  And often we did meet them soon!

Then there was the fact that we had no mailbox.  So our neighbor behind us stuck a 2 x 1 in the ground that was about five feet tall.  He cut a 'slit' in the wood and placed a note in the slit.  That became our 'mailbox' for about a year!

I remember coming home from work one day to find that another neighbor had pulled a complete fence line for us!  That was over 20 years ago and that fence still stands today!  I often think of him...he moved a couple of states away...and I wonder how he and his wife are doing.  Does he know that we still remember him fondly and smile every time we think of him?

The pace in the country is slower.  It is nice.  It is nice to be able to 'give' back.  Last year when a friend was giving birth to her fifth child, I was called to watch the other four children.  The call came at 5:00 am.  I met her husband for the first time around noon when he came home.  It was neat because neither of us cared that we 'looked' less than presentable.  What was important at 5:00 am was the fact that I arrived to their home safely and they made it to the hospital safely too.  The fog was BAD that morning!

And today...my son and I visited with another friend.  She is due to have a baby any day now.  My son made the baby a beautiful blanket that he wove on his loom.  I'll post pictures of it next week.  Trust me, it is BEAUTIFUL!  It was very nice to be able to go and just visit with her today.  We made bread and just talked.  Her life will be changing soon.  She will have diapers to change, toys to pick up and spit up to clean up.  But today, we just sat back and talked and relaxed.  It's just country to slow down.  And I'm thankful that I make that opportunity to slow down...and smell the roses....