Friends: Summer

These gems are from last summer. They were too good to stay buried in a file on my laptop. So, please. Enjoy a look into last summer with me, and meet my lovely Sally and the wonderful Sarah.

This was Sarah's first jaunt to my nest in Bainbridge, and it was so, so good to have her company. Sarah and Sally were two of the nine of us who lived together in a beautiful old brick house called Brown House during my senior year at Houghton. That was a golden year indeed. Living with such dear folk and loving each other, making each other meals and singing the doxology together before we ate them, going for hikes, learning to appreciate each other's idiosyncrasies, giving each other comfort, laughing heartily, and sometimes crying with as much sincerity... Even just writing such a glancing description of that year makes my heart glow warm. Yes. One of the best years of my life.

Mmmm.

Memories run deep.

Sally was my bosom chum during college. She is one of the loveliest girls you'll ever meet, full of empathy, always thinking, always knowing the painful beauty of the world she was born in. She has a soul as deep as the ocean. Our differences have made each of us stretch to contain the other.

And Sarah? Sarah was our Mowgli, our adventurer. She traveled to Tanzania, to Rwanda and brought a slice of that world back with her. She is capable, confident, but she somehow still knows how to give some of the best hugs you've ever gotten.

I am so grateful for them.

When they came for their visit, we went to The Main Street Grill, the best little restaurant this side of the Mississippi. [If you come visit me, I'll take you there. Visit me!]

We also rambled on down to Frog Pond, a bustling family-owned produce, small livestock, and flower market. It's charming. I don't know how many times I've been tempted to buy a rabbit to keep me company in my apartment. Or a pig. You may laugh, but you haven't seen how cute they are.

Sally was--as you can see--overcome by the pickle barrels.

I made a friend. It's difficult not to be chummy with someone who looks so eerily like you...

When I first moved to Bainbridge as a country bumpkin down to my roots, adjusting to life in town took a lot of time. The sound of the train shrieking its way through town in the wee hours startled me awake. Now I find it a steady sound, a homey sound.

We made good use of the railroad tracks to flatten some pennies.

Bainbridge has the best custard you've ever tasted, and a lovely little park to enjoy it in.

Thank you for bringing me some warm fuzzies as I rediscovered these photos, my friends. God is so good to have brought us to each other, even if time's passing has meant a change in what our friendship looks like.

Godspeed in your travels, wherever you go.