We had friends from Utah come to spend last weekend with us.  It was fabulous, and a much-needed reminder that we rarely go out without our children (February was the last time), we do not have many “true” friends and when folks come to town, I get a chance to eat out at some of my favorite restaurants!

This was the couple that my husband and I had our “date nights” with when we lived in Utah.  The four of us would go out to dinner and then end up on their deck, contemplating life and the universe – listening to my husband and friend Cathy discuss the pros and cons of education while Cathy’s husband and I would just laugh at their seriousness and talk about the weather.

We picked Val up at the airport in San Antonio, then drove downtown to get Cathy from a conference she was attending.  Within 30 minutes, we were seated at THE best TexMex restaurant on the Riverwalk, and no more than five minutes after we ordered had John and Cathy slipped into their educational discussions while Val and I just grunted and groaned at the food we were shoveling into our mouths.  Those are friends – when you can not see each other for 4+ years and fall right into “normalcy” as if we hadn’t been apart at all.

We went out to a honky tonk closer to home after we had toured the Alamo and saw what we could see before the sun went down.  That was when I realized my husband and I had not tested out a dance floor in THREE years!  And Cathy, who has known me almost 10 years, didn’t even KNOW I knew how to dance (as if there’s a lot of honky tonks in Utah).

On Sunday, we took our friends to church with us, which just happened to be the first ever cowboy service.  Believe it or not, those staunch Lutherans actually had us a’singin’ “Happy Trails” – do you know how hard that is to sing without Roy Rogers and Trigger riding off into the sunset???  Sunday evening, we had our pastor and his wife, a friend from church and my MIL down to the house for a cozy (and delish) dinner, drinks and more discussions.  My one friend even brought a video out for the kids so they had something to do!

Monday, we snuck off to Fredericksburg, Texas, for a day of touring, shopping and eating (again). 

Then Monday evening I took Cathy with me to our quilt group meeting – not sure she got anything out of it, but it was a chance to get out of the house with creative people doing what we love doing!

Tuesday I came back to my work while hubby took our guests back to the airport for their trip home.  Sad to see them go but what a wonderful opportunity for me to remember how important friends have been in our lives.