One of the most special parts of this summer was the chance to reconnect with old 
friends and to continue to develop relationships with new ones!
First, I celebrated the upcoming marriage of my longest friend, of 15 years, through her bridal shower and bachelorette party and in less than three weeks, we will celebrate her wedding. At her bachelorette weekend down in Dewey Beach, Delaware we marveled that the dreams of two pre-teen girls planning to be in each other’s weddings would be coming true in back-to-back summers! (See right)
I also spent a wonderful day with my college friend, who has been a great confidant
ever since graduating as we seem to share similar life journeys: graduating from Messiah as education majors, becoming teachers, buying houses and getting married all within a similar time frame. While we often connect via text messages, it was a delight to spend time face-to-face with our new spouses, enjoying a homemade lunch of quesadillas, playing “Jack-box tv” games and then being treated to dinner in their cute town of Winchester. (See left)
This summer also provided the neat opportunity to begin fostering relationships with other newly-married couples in the area. Both Cody and I enjoyed inviting people over for board games (like Settlers of Catan and a newbie Forbidden Island), dinner and a walk to Maggie’s the Italian Ice and Custard Hut just down the street. We watched as our “Friday Night Board Game” friends got married, and helped them celebrate by making their guest book, housing the groomsman the night before the wedding and just generally being available to help them with last-minute details (like making wristlets for the mothers at the flower shop and quickly turning a slice of our Christmas tree into a ring box for them to use in the ceremony). Last Sunday, we enjoyed some last summer memories (particularly for Cody who started back-to-school training this week) by
packing up a picnic dinner of Chinese food, watermelon, candy and snacks galore and driving the ’88 Bronco to Haar’s old-fashioned drive in for back-to-back movies (even if one of them was “The Nut Job 2-Nutty By Nature”). We laughed, tossed a frisbee, ate our picnic dinner, and even played a round of Catan in the open back of the truck before settling in for the movies. They continue to be friends that we love getting to know better and getting to share the joys and challenges of being newly married, including encouraging one another in the process. I know I am just so thankful for these new friendships and can’t wait to watch them continue to grow! (See top).
Side note: Having an ice cream shop just down the road has become the perfect avenue for sharing in fellowship with others. Twice this summer, I was invited to an on-the-spot ice cream run with friends who texted, “Hey just stopping by Maggie’s and wondered if your free to join”… I’m so thankful that I have had the margin in my life to drop what I’m doing and say a resounding “YES, I’ll be there in a minute.”
Sarah, Plain and Tall 