Pull up a chair

Last Sunday, I made a post to the CSS group comparing our virtual friendship to the table that the ladies on Desperate Housewives share. Really, these ladies have grown to know my heart and my spirit deeper than many of my closest friends. We mourn and celebrate with each other. We depend on the wisdom of each other and at the same time we share our wisdom freely.

The funny thing about tables is that they typically have limited seating. Ian and I are looking at buying a bigger table for our kitchen so that when Ariana arrives we can all sit at our table and have room for drop in friends. But, the great thing about friendship tables is that seating isn’t limited. When it comes to friends, you can always just increase the size of your table. Some people prefer to have a few special friends. My husband tends to be like that. He keeps his table fairly small. I know you all would be surprised to know that I prefer to have a much bigger table. I just love when new people pull up a chair and make the conversation lively. In fact, it is pretty hard for me to accept that sometimes people may not be interested in pulling up a chair. Some stare from afar and you wonder if they want to be invited or if they are passing judgment or are they, like my husband, oblivious of the whole situation. Others prefer to people watch from afar and simply enjoy observing and enjoying the “show”.

I look forward to Ariana joining my physical table as well as my friendship table. I think she will change the dynamics of both in a big way. It will be fun to have a girl add new topics of conversation to our dinners. It will also be fun to add the new dynamic of a mother-daughter relationship. I wonder often what that is like. I hope she is less interested in grossing me out. I wonder if she will like soccer or ballet or both. Will she enjoy watching Disney princess movies over and over? Will she like to play dress up or dig in the dirt?

How wonderful that our tables evolve and change as we age.

Dear Lord, thank you so much for the blessing of friends of all kinds. May my table always have a free chair available for anyone who wishes to join in and may I always stop to appreciate each one of those who have given such a generous gift as their friendship.

Thank you to everyone who has pulled up a chair and offered advice, laughter, understanding, prayer and wisdom throughout this process. I certainly appreciate it. The last few months have been painfully slow and you continue to carry me through each day with your prayers and friendship.