Spending the Afternoon With Sarah and Dean
My big sister, Sarah and her husband, Dean, were making their yearly trip to the Boundary Waters this past week. The term, "big sister" is something of an affectionate joke as Sarah is about five feet tall. I always feel like I tower over her. She's not my sister in the sense that we were born into the same family. However she is one of those friends who has become close enough that it simply doesn't matter. She is my sister, period.
They live in North Carolina not too far away from the Blue Ridge Mountains. I'm told that is the most beautiful part of the country to live in. Once a year or so they travel back to Minnesota with one or more of their pack of dogs to visit Dean's family. We always try to spend at least part of a day together.
We'd been texting back and forth and wondering if we would be able to see each other this year. Finally a date, time and place were found. Yesterday afternoon, C and I got into the car and went to Red Wing to meet them. I was excited, we hadn't seen each other in over a year and I had been really bad about staying in touch. Sue and I have a lot in common beside the fact that we are each married to musicians who would like to sit out on the front porch and pick guitars all afternoon.
C and I got there early. We got a text from Sarah telling us that they had been delayed. They were travelling with Punkin and Beans, two of their pack of four dogs and the dogs needed an extended potty break and some food. C and I waited in a park by the post office. After a bit we walked back to the car to get more tissues and they pulled up. As they were getting out of the SUV they were driving I went to the open window to greet the dogs. I got a lot of licks from Punkin and a sniff or two from Beans. I do like dogs, but when you have the kind of lifestyle C and I have cats work out better.
We had a couple of rounds of hearty hugs all around. I was so happy to see both of them. Although I know they love their beautiful mountains, I sometimes wished they lived closer so we could meet more often. I'm sure they think the same of us.
We decided to walk. Sarah and I quickly outdistanced them men who were rambling along as they chatted. At one point Dean called Sarah and asked if we ladies were planning to walk all the way to Hastings. That wasn't in the plan, we were just chatting and getting farther and farther ahead. The guys decided that they would find a place to hang out and we ladies could stretch our legs as long as we liked. We hiked around town catching up and talking about things that were going on in our lives.
We came back to the men who had also been spending some time catching up. None of us were really hungry yet so we went to a park. Sarah and I sat on one bench and the guys settled down on another. We kept talking until it started to get a bit chilly. We decided it was time for some food. Sarah and Dean have just about everywhere it seems, and they knew a good restaurant. C and I had never been there, but were willing to try it.
It was a barbecue place and we were greeted by the site of meat cooking over an open flame at the entrance. Sarah and I were a bit chilled so the warmth of the fire was welcome. We had to wait a bit, but we didn't mind. We were still talking.
We were seated at the table and ordered our food. There was a bit of a lull in the conversation as we paused to eat.
After we were done the conversation broke out again. Sarah told me that while she was happy where she lived and worked, she did miss having the kinds of conversations we were having. The people where they live are good people and kindly enough, but tend to stay in their own small worlds. We both decided that we needed talk more often. I suggested that once a month we call each other and talk. We both have computers so she can send me a message when she will be free for an hour or so and I can call her.
I'm not sure what Dean and C were discussing, but music and politics were most likely the main subjects. C grew up in South Carolina and knows a bit about the area, although he has not been there for a long time.
The time passed quickly and it was time to get going. None of us really wanted to leave, but it was getting late. Sarah and Dean were driving to a place to camp for the night. C and I needed to get home. We had another parting round of hugs. C and I walked to the car and got inside. As we drove away we saw them letting the dogs out for a quick break before hitting the road. Sarah sent a parting text message thanking us for dinner and telling us that they missed us already.
We hope next year to go to the Carolinas to visit them and I'm hoping the next time they come up they can stay with us for a few days. They've never seen our house or the area where we live.
It was a good afternoon......
They live in North Carolina not too far away from the Blue Ridge Mountains. I'm told that is the most beautiful part of the country to live in. Once a year or so they travel back to Minnesota with one or more of their pack of dogs to visit Dean's family. We always try to spend at least part of a day together.
We'd been texting back and forth and wondering if we would be able to see each other this year. Finally a date, time and place were found. Yesterday afternoon, C and I got into the car and went to Red Wing to meet them. I was excited, we hadn't seen each other in over a year and I had been really bad about staying in touch. Sue and I have a lot in common beside the fact that we are each married to musicians who would like to sit out on the front porch and pick guitars all afternoon.
C and I got there early. We got a text from Sarah telling us that they had been delayed. They were travelling with Punkin and Beans, two of their pack of four dogs and the dogs needed an extended potty break and some food. C and I waited in a park by the post office. After a bit we walked back to the car to get more tissues and they pulled up. As they were getting out of the SUV they were driving I went to the open window to greet the dogs. I got a lot of licks from Punkin and a sniff or two from Beans. I do like dogs, but when you have the kind of lifestyle C and I have cats work out better.
We had a couple of rounds of hearty hugs all around. I was so happy to see both of them. Although I know they love their beautiful mountains, I sometimes wished they lived closer so we could meet more often. I'm sure they think the same of us.
We decided to walk. Sarah and I quickly outdistanced them men who were rambling along as they chatted. At one point Dean called Sarah and asked if we ladies were planning to walk all the way to Hastings. That wasn't in the plan, we were just chatting and getting farther and farther ahead. The guys decided that they would find a place to hang out and we ladies could stretch our legs as long as we liked. We hiked around town catching up and talking about things that were going on in our lives.
We came back to the men who had also been spending some time catching up. None of us were really hungry yet so we went to a park. Sarah and I sat on one bench and the guys settled down on another. We kept talking until it started to get a bit chilly. We decided it was time for some food. Sarah and Dean have just about everywhere it seems, and they knew a good restaurant. C and I had never been there, but were willing to try it.
It was a barbecue place and we were greeted by the site of meat cooking over an open flame at the entrance. Sarah and I were a bit chilled so the warmth of the fire was welcome. We had to wait a bit, but we didn't mind. We were still talking.
We were seated at the table and ordered our food. There was a bit of a lull in the conversation as we paused to eat.
After we were done the conversation broke out again. Sarah told me that while she was happy where she lived and worked, she did miss having the kinds of conversations we were having. The people where they live are good people and kindly enough, but tend to stay in their own small worlds. We both decided that we needed talk more often. I suggested that once a month we call each other and talk. We both have computers so she can send me a message when she will be free for an hour or so and I can call her.
I'm not sure what Dean and C were discussing, but music and politics were most likely the main subjects. C grew up in South Carolina and knows a bit about the area, although he has not been there for a long time.
The time passed quickly and it was time to get going. None of us really wanted to leave, but it was getting late. Sarah and Dean were driving to a place to camp for the night. C and I needed to get home. We had another parting round of hugs. C and I walked to the car and got inside. As we drove away we saw them letting the dogs out for a quick break before hitting the road. Sarah sent a parting text message thanking us for dinner and telling us that they missed us already.
We hope next year to go to the Carolinas to visit them and I'm hoping the next time they come up they can stay with us for a few days. They've never seen our house or the area where we live.
It was a good afternoon......
Comments
Post a Comment