A Little Effort...

As time goes on, it naturally becomes harder and harder to try to keep up with all of the people that are important to me.  People are busy and live all over and (at this point in the game for folks my age) are immersed in having kids and raising some great little people.

But, a little effort to try to keep up with folks and touch base with them when possible is so important to me.  It may mean some crazy coordinating of schedules, some time in the car, some busy days and a little more gas in the car than I like to think about the cost of, but it is ALWAYS worth it.

This past weekend I hit the highway and made all sorts of stops and visits.

The first was lunch in Durham with my dear friend Eric, his wife Allison, and my friend Mark on Saturday.  (Poor Mark took the photo so he doesn't get any exposure.  Sorry Mark!  And thank you!)

Eric and I have been friends since high school and even though we managed to attend rival schools over the years (Go Spartans, Go Pack!), he is still one of my favorite people.  He is married to the sweetest, kindest girl and I have loved getting to know her some over the years as well.  And Mark is the younger brother of my best friend from college, and he has gotten to know Eric and Allison in Durham.  Worlds colliding for me!  I love when that happens.

Next it was off to Amanda's wedding in Durham that night.  I met up with Amanda right after lunch to help with photo duty and had no idea I'd get the chance to be one-on-one with her almost all afternoon.  It was such a gift.  She is one of my favorite people and was a true guiding force for me in high school (when you go through that yucky time of not knowing who in the world you are) and has been one of my dearest friends ever since.  We had a fun old Spartan crew at the wedding complete with Belton coming from Tennessee for the fun for a total Mt. Tabor flashback.  What fun!

Then it was off to the beach for a few days with Mom, where I promptly arranged for a few other fun visits with folks down that way!

First, I went to see the Lillys, who I babysat for in college.  Before there were ANY of my kids in Winston, I had the Lillys.  Through the most random connections ever I ended up starting to keep Chandler and Collier, who at the time were almost 3-years-old and 8-months-old.  I had no idea how I would fall in love with these kids and their parents.  Right after I graduated they were joined by a baby brother, Steven, who is equally as precious as the first two.  The Lillys were in Wrightsville for the weekend and I couldn't wait to see them.

It had been AGES and the kids are now 10, 8 and 6.  I could have fallen apart crying when I saw them.  Even though I have watched them grow in Christmas cards over the years it was still insane to me to see how big they all are.  And SO sweet.  Hugs hugs hugs for Becca.  I was in total heaven.

The next day I headed into town to visit with Matt, Liz and Matthew.  Matt is my best friend from college, and he and Liz - and Matthew! - are like family to me.  Matthew is getting so big and he is so busy.  It was so great to see them and catch up for a little while.  It is a big big big deal to me to know the children of the dear friends that I have, so I was thrilled to get to spend a little time with this little (big!) guy.

And, I can't not mention dinner with sweet Blair on the way home last night.  We didn't get a picture, but here we are from Elizabeth's wedding just so she doesn't get left out!  It was, as always, great to see her as well.

So yes, the miles are on the car and I am totally beat, but in a great, sweet, happy way.  My heart is full after ANY kind of time spent with people I don't see often, so it's all but about to explode after the past few days of love love love.  So worth the effort!  How great is that?!