East Meets West

Or, in other words, this past weekend:

Harrisburg met State College.

Yes, my Harrisburg friends took a little road trip and showed up at my State College door, just in time for me to exclaim with joy and welcome them in.

As we gathered around the table for brunch, I thought about all of the times they've gathered me around their tables.  I thought about how much I have wished over the years that I could have them in my home, and how that would have been the case if I hadn't moved away.  I thought about how grateful I was that here, at last, they were.

We ate and drank and brushed just the tip of the iceberg with all of the things we had to catch up on.

Then we lounged in the living room, 

watching the babies get to know each other.  

We sat and chatted, simply, in the knowledge that despite the fact that I haven't lived near them for nearly 5 years, these friendships remain.  

We took care of whatever needs arose,

[Nikolas: Hello?  Is this really happening right in front of my face?  I know I just ate 20 minutes ago, but still...]

until we had to face the facts: It was time to go.

[Henry: Are you serious? We just got here!]

It was a brief visit, but one that said:

Let's do this again!