Summer friends

Reconnecting with summer friends is such a pleasant adventure. I miss my summer friends in the winter. You possibly know what I am talking about. Weird but there are certain people who I do not see as often in the winter. So summer is about appreciating those precious souls.

First of all, I've never been a person with a lot of close friends. My role model is to pursue family as my close friends because when life is filled with work, there is not time for close friendships. And besides, work friends are often work friends, not everyday close friends. Yup. That's the way I grew up, pretty much.

I am not a big socializer. People learn that about me. I am one who watches others, amazed at their comfort within the social scene. I'm more withdrawn and take comfort in my own surroundings. That's me. Is that what you call an introvert? Who would think?

With that said, I have a neighbor who is one of the most social, thoughtful people I know. We don't connect much during the winter, just a text here and there or she'll show up at the door with a bag of yummy trail mix. In the summer, we ride bikes together everyday we can. The weather is generally lovely here in Buffalo - unless it's a rainy week - and so we ride evenings, sometimes mornings too. Best part is we talk while we ride, a mile a minute. 

She tells me the ups and downs of her work week. We talk flowers, gardens, bird feeders, family gatherings and grandchildren, her visits with psychics, and pet peeves. I'm thrilled with what a beautiful person she is inside and out. She calls out to folks walking their dogs and stops to help the elderly needing aid with a wheelbarrow. Her positive thinking brings such joy.

I particularly love how she plans thoughtful events for her grandchildren, all the while committed to designing her own legacy. She takes hours to plant flowers and shrubs in the yard, and then teaches her grandkids how her plants are named so one day the grandchildren may attach memories to their time with grandma in the garden. Recently, she purchased 100 tea lights. Next time the kids are over, each will get 20 lights to put around the room. Someday they will remember, she says, that I have been a force in their life.

There are other summer friends who camp with us at the campground near Attica. One family comes up north from Arizona each summer. Two other families are from the Buffalo area; two more are from Florida. 

We talk for hours on our decks about anything and everything from life in the city to recipes and gardening. Some of us sew together, enjoy campfires, Monday night bingo, occasional campground concerts, and 'just being'.  One thing for sure: we help each other with whatever needs doing, and that's special. These folks have given me huge support across this last year. Each individual is a gem. I am so blessed.

As I look at the sunshine outside today, I include a huge thank you in today's prayers for all my  summer friends. You accept me for who I am and enrich my days with your kindness. You will go beyond cancer with me because that is who you are, and cancer for me is something we have tackled together, within the exchange of life stories, bike riding, and recipes. Just another challenge that makes us stronger together.