Do you have friends you can pick up with just where you left off? Friends you can literally go 15 years without seeing and it feels like a week? Because I do. And I love them. I had a most magical day yesterday with my friend Valerie & her twin boys at Valerie’s parent’s place on Sacandaga Lake. It was just Val, her Mom, the boys and I and it was perfect. I had a day where I was just by myself and so i sent her a text out of the blue to see if she might by chance be around as we ALWAYS say we’re “going to meet up one of these days”. And she was in fact around !! She suggested we go to the lake and it was an absolutely perfect day!!

Val was one of my best friends in college and she was a year older than me. When she graduated before me, I was so sad, but I knew she would go on to do great things. Val always knew from the time she was a little girl that she wanted to be a teacher. She had an older sister and an older brother and she would say, “Lisa would play Doctor, David would fix things like cars or anything with wires and I would teach all my animals & dollies.” And that’s basically how it happened.

Valerie is elementary school teacher and also a fantastic Mom. She is raising two little gentlemen who are so lovely and polite, but also just fun, funny kids. They clearly know they are so loved & kept teasing us all afternoon that we were “chatting like teenage girlfriends”. It was the cutest thing. And we were!! We could have talked for hours, and they knew it. But they knew they had Val’s full attention if it was needed and at the same time, she had a special visit with a friend that day so it was a nice time for them to explore and play together.

Valerie makes you feel like everything you say is the most important thing that’s ever left your mouth. I realized after I left her that I want to do that more. I want to listen more and be more attentive. I want to engage more with my friends and loved ones or even people I don’t know so well. It’s such a gift to give people your full attention and to not constantly be checking your phone or wondering what time it is or who has messaged you or whatever our little quirks or triggers might be. But to really listen to someone and give them that time together is such a gift. That is something I am going to try and do more often. Because things like that matter. It really made an impression on me. It made me realize how wrapped up in myself I can be at times and how much I cherish the moments with these dear friends and loved ones. I hope to have many more times “chatting like teenage girlfriends” in the future with Valerie and I am so glad we had our lake day together yesterday. It was special and I’ll hold it close for a very long time.

#soulsisters #teenagegirlfriends #greatsacandagalake #twinning