to old friends

i sent paul off to baltimore today for a conference. i'm jealous. go ahead and laugh.  but remember how i always used to say, '"i can't wait to miss baltimore?" baltimore has old friend status now. i can look past the blemishes now (ok giant hairy warts) and extend the kindness of selective memory.

i love baltimore in april and may. i miss wyman park. the aquarium.  the science center.  new system bakery's chocolate glazed donuts and . the walters art museum. red tree. the book thing.  so many great restaurants and festivals and HONFEST! our little hampden library.  and most of all my friends.

usually when you move, it takes a while, but you establish a new life for yourself in the new location. here, we are temporary, but indefinitely.  and we live with my parents.  i have some friends from high school, and paul and i each have a cousin living nearby (who are, strangely enough, related to each other through their spouses!)  and i have friends in the ward i can call to watch my kids if i need to.  but the friends we actually hang out with are ones we knew from other times in our lives, driving an hour or more to get together with people we know and love.

i love my friends. i feel rich as a queen with friends all over the world and so many great memories. what would i do without you all?  good grief i am starting to sound old.  but let me raise my glass anyway. to baltimore. to friendship over the years. to you.