Good Long Time Friends

This past Saturday my friends Vivian and Dennis came to visit. I first met Vivian in July of 1985 when I moved here to Maryland and she was working in the same office as I was. We both worked for Hudson Trail Outfitters. I was the receptionist and she was the payroll person for the two companies that worked out the same office. We just seemed to hit it off and then she began dating Dennis and we have all been friends since then. If you do the math it has been or will be 24 years of friendship.

Vivian has always been like a mom to me. She was always there when I needed someone to talk to without being judged or just needed some motherly advice. She never let me down with negative thoughts or feelings no matter how much trouble I seemed to get into. Especially when I got pregnant with Steven and Shawn, she was always there for me to lean on and there were some pretty lean times but she always was just available. She and Dennis got married and they included us in their plans and all their family activities and just introduced me as their adopted daughter. They are still there to this day when I need them. My boys call them Grandma and Grandpa and they have always been tickled by that. This would mean that my boys were their first grand kids. We love going to visit them and the boys seem to have a lot of stuff to share with them and they like it when they come to their sports games or just come to hang out like they did this past weekend.

Dennis is very handy and when one of my chairs was broken he took it and fixed and you would never know that it was ever broken. They brought it back down this weekend, it will be nice to have six chairs around the table again.

They will be traveling this week to Arkansas to put the land they have there up for sale. They were going to eventually build a house there but decided that it was just to far from the kids so they are going to put it up for sale as well as their house in Union Bridge, Maryland and buy something in a retirement community and I think that is a wonderful thing for them they have worked hard all their lives and need to settle down in a place that does not need to have so much upkeep. I love going to their house and just chilling out. I feel so safe and comfortable that I don't get up there often enough. I used to go there when I need some down (before kids as well as after kids) and it would be my secret place and no one would know where I was, it was my safe place and every one needs a safe place.

I have only two other friends that I have had longer than Vivian and Dennis and they are Lisa and Ron W., they were my first friends at College and no matter how long it has been since we last talked we just pick up from where we left off and keep on trucking. Long time friends that you can be comfortable with no matter what the situation are wonderful ones to have.

i hope you have a long time friend that you can always count one. At least one anyways and if you have more, more power to you. Keep those friends close.