13 April 2007

It's a Boy!

Erin called last night.
The McPhees saw their baby yesterday and are having a boy.
It's unbelievable to me that one of my closest friends is going to be a mom in just 5 months.
She's going to be an amazing mom!

I only wish they didn't live so far away.
It is moments like that phone call that make me realize the joy of communal living.
Seminary was a great place.
I had friends at my fingertips.
We had mutual interests and passions.
We thought about the same things.
We read the same things.
We lived together (literally, in the case of Erin).
We ate together.
We worshipped together.
And we played together.
In more ways than I realized at the time, we were a community.

Sometimes I wish I could re-live those days, knowing what I know now. I wouldn't have lengthened them or tried to make them last longer, but I would have invested more deeply in the friends who support me now.

Erin is wonderful, and I love our friendship. But I am now discovering deeper relationships with friends across the country that I barely knew in seminary. The wonder of the electronic world is that ability. How much deeper would those relationships be if I had taken more time for coffee with Cate or frisbee with Eric? How much less would I struggle with my "aloneness" here in Western Kentucky if I had sought out those deep relationships when I was immersed in them?

One of my best friends is having a son in September.
I missed her wedding because I did not prioritize.
I won't miss the early stages of her life as a mom.
I have made the commitment to Erin, to Matt, and to their family.
Even 1,900 miles away, they are near and dear to me.
And I will be there to celebrate with them this time.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm sitting here on your Cardinal Couch, with your dog snuggling at my feet, reading your blog off of your computer after a long time of not looking at it. And it made me cry. I love you!