Old Friends (Who Are Not Old)

(mumble-mumble) years ago, I met Jeff when I got my first teaching job at a Catholic high school where he was already on staff. We became friends, coached track together, coadvised the junior high classes together, and generally kept each other sane at work. We each got married in those first couple years, and Susan and I and Jeff and Janelle started to socialize together and quickly became good friends. Jeff was in our wedding; the two of them are Suzanna's godparents; we have gone on vacations together; and they have hosted us for a Christmastime get-together pretty much annually since they've been living in the Fargo area. Our kids are similar ages, and they all get along famously, too. In short, our families are great friends.

We were delighted to be able to host them in Dickinson this week. Janelle's parents have been volunteering at Medora, so Jeff and Janelle decided to surprise them by just showing up one day in Medora and saying "hi." Their clan came to our house Tuesday night, and Susan and the girls went with them to Medora the next day. Susan brought their two youngest boys back to Dickinson that afternoon, leaving our girls with them to attend the Medora musical that night. Thursday Jeff and Janelle brought their kids back to Medora for part of the day, but that night I brought them and our girls to the West River Community Center for some evening swimming in the water park (while Susan was at a church council meeting). They packed up and headed home this morning.

I didn't see much of our own children this week because they were so busy playing with Jeff and Janelle's kids! Their daughter, Megan, is Abigail's age, so the two of them and Suzanna hung out together; and their son Jaden is Hillary's age, so they were off playing together. Their sons Jordan and Austen are both under three years old, so they kept the adults busy handing them toys and pulling out of their reach any breakables around the house--although their youth made them attractive to our daughters, too, who went into "babysitter" mode around them and entertained the lads during breaks from their own fun and games.

Speaking of games, the only photos we took while they were here were of this rousing game of Barbie Uno:

At one end, Jeff with Hillary to his right and Abigail to his left; at the other end, Suzanna with Megan to her right and Jaden to her left.

Jordan sat out the card game but entertained himself with a cardboard tube from a roll of wrapping paper.

Jeff and Janelle are the kind of houseguests who bring tons of food with them and tidy up after themselves before leaving. They're also the kind of friends whose kids are well behaved and with whom we're perfectly comfortable sending our own kids off to play without much adult intervention. They might now think that we're big fat liars, though. We're always going on and on about the wonderful weather in Dickinson: hardly any snow or blizzardy temperatures in the winter, temperate summers with no bugs and lots of sunshine. Well--wouldn't you know it?--it was chilly, overcast, and rainy here this entire week . . . great for lawns and gardens but not so much for tramping around Medora, sitting outdoors for the musical, or playing outside and eating on the veranda. We did still manage to serve them grilled food, though; and perhaps they were warmed in a summertime kind of way by the Long Island teas. In any case, we look forward to another visit with them very soon.

P.S. Read more about our good times with Jeff and Janelle here and here.