Quite a few years ago, a family of boys moved away from the house nearly next door to us, and a new family of boys moved in. From then on our kids and the new kids were close--doing those things boys love to do as they grow up--bikes, hikes, playing with trucks, building forts, etc. Since the new neighbors were from Asia, our family was enriched by their friendship and opportunities to learn about and participate in some of their cultural events---especially weddings! When Youngest was able to spend time in India at the age of 16, he was just a bit familiar with the culture.
Eventually our boys grew up and each of us moved to different neighborhoods, but B and I continued to keep in touch. B was called back to India for various reasons and for an extended time in the past couple of years, so we lost touch. Whenever I passed her neighborhood, I would think of her and wonder what was up.
Thankfully we connected again and got together last week. When I walked into her wonderful house, I breathed deeply of her culture, the aroma from her stove, and the richness of her hospitality. There is nothing quite like sitting at B's table and eating her food. What a wonderful time we had catching up on our children and our own lives. We parted, but not for long. She will return to her country soon, but hopefully be back again before too much time has passed.
It's so wonderful to have friendships like that, and how wonderful to be able to be together again and renew those friendships.
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