Saturday October 7, 2006

Yesterday was meant to be fantastic and it turned out to be even more so than what I’d dared to dream.  Every few years my mom and sisters and Rosa and her girls will get together for a day.  This time, Mom, Beth, and I, along with Rosa, Treva and Tury met in Harrisonburg for a day of shopping together.  Mom had a last minute trip to OH come up on her schedule and had to leave by 12 (which meant Beth would leave, too, since they carpooled) so we opted to start early with breakfast to give us more time together. 

There we sat at Ihops, eating omelettes and french toast, drinking coffee and having the merriest of times.  There was so much laughter at our table I caught the few people who were also there early trying to slyly peer at us out of the corners of their eyes.  A wave of sadness washed over us when the talk turned towards the gruesome tragedy in Pennsylvania.  It’s hard to know who to feel most sad about … the girls who suffered and are still suffering such a horrible, horrible nightmare, the parents and families who have lost a child / children, the community who has lost friends and the beauty of innocent, normal living, the wife of the murderer who must be enduring unbelievable mental agony?  Through it all, I am most amazed at the forgiveness of the entire community.  The way God is showing His love to an entire world through His people, the quiet, rural Amish community in Lancaster County. 

The talk turned towards Tury leaving for Belize and then to reminiscing about other shopping trips.  How we laughed about the day 10 years ago when we met in Staunton and we girls shopped the toy aisles.  The prize of our day then was disappearing ink.  Some of us bought pens, some calculators, and someone a camera.  All were filled with the magical ink and we would laugh uproariously at someone’s horror as we squirted ink all over their clothes!

Hearts and stomachs bursting we headed for the mall.  Times have changed.  Instead of shopping in the toy stores, we were grown-ups.  Mom and I fell in love with the same pair of shoes.  This time it was also the girls urging the mom’s to “at least try this sweater on.”  It was also the girls trying to locate the mom’s because it was very nearly time for Mom and Beth to be leaving. 

You really know you have old friends with you when you can shop together, as in together.  The first time I went shopping with new friends after I got married I realized that shopping together means (at least for them), carpooling, and then setting a meeting time at each store or at the mall, then dispersing to shop alone.  I didn’t like it at first but have sort of gotten used to it as “normal.”  It is faster, but not as much fun.  Having been immersed in that sort of culture for four years, I was the one setting a meeting time at the beginning and immediately people started fussing, “but why don’t we just shop together?”  Oh what bliss!  We had an amazing time, looking, laughing and talking, trying on new things, being each other’s beauty consultants, eating soft pretzels when we needed to refuel and exclaiming over all our purchases!

It’s nice to know that some things haven’t changed.  We still love to be together and when it’s time to say good-bye, we nearly get misty-eyed.   Even before we walk out the door, we start dreaming about another time.   With Tury leaving for Belize for two years, it may be a long time.  That’s okay.  Meanwhile, we’ll hang onto the good memories in our hearts.

• Sunday October 8, 2006 →