We have spent the last couple of weeks, moving some friends of ours into a new house just on the other side of town.
To be quite honest, I wasn’t quite sure how to take having somebody, friends, live so very close to us. We have lived in this small town almost 20 years and it is always been a little refuge for me. We would see friends in the Twin Cities, but then we would go home and make the trip back to Wisconsin.
Now, we have an extended family. That’s so close. We can have dinner together at night, even after work.
No, I’m not going to say that it has been easy but, I have always found myself to be somewhat of a loaner. Oh sure, Shannon’s in the same house with me but marriage is different than friendships. Different dynamics altogether. Before we left for our trip, Shannon had said to me that we were going to have a party for a good friend of mine and I immediately suspected something, a surprise party or some kind of get together.
It’s my thing, I’m paranoid.
I let it go, and I am glad that I did. The party that my friend and I received was so much more than I could have hoped for. Old friends and new friends, and even some family were there and it was just nice to be able to sit down and talk.
Our two friends that had moved into town with a couple of my other friends got together and bought me a knife, it was an immediate hit. My wife organized it, and it is engraved with sayings to me to remind me of why we are all friends.
After we got back from our trip, we started moving this young couple into their new home and while we were unpacking some of their things so we could enjoy some dinner together, I was reminded that some of the cooking utensils were in a box. It took a second for me to get the clue, but when I looked back, I noticed the box was sitting in front of me, and everybody was looking at me Like, “Hey, ya got a knife?“It quickly whipped out my brand new prize and made short order of the box, thinking of all my friends, both old and new who were there with me to celebrate my birthday.
It has been a long time since I was able to sit down with a group that I know and just be comfortable about being me. I have said it before and I will say it again, how lucky am I?
We managed to get our friends moved into town, get them unpacked, and even managed to hang a picture or two. You know, this “friend thing” isn’t so bad as long as I get out of my own way and don’t jump to conclusions and don’t ever let me pack your stuff! 
Have a great day and go make your mark!
