To The Friends I Have Not Seen

My daughter keeps asking me if I'm going to see any friends while we are home, and I keep thinking the same thing... I really don't think so. Usually when we visit I have a list of people I want to see and places I want to go. This year has been different. I really don't want to see anyone but the people I am staying with. And I have no idea why I feel this way.

I love my friends. I have some great ones. I'm not mad at anybody. No one has offended me. I just feel really protective of my time and when I look at the calendar and realize the time is rapidly winding down, I don't want to go anywhere I don't need to.

I'll probably regret this when I get back. Or maybe I won't. All I know is that this visit has been different in a good way. I wouldn't change a thing. I just hope nobody gets mad at me because I didn't stop by.

And as crazy as that sounds, it has happened before. Sometimes visits just don't work out. Last Christmas the snow and ice disrupted the plans I had. Just this summer I ended up driving my dad to the emergency room that effectively canceled some things I was going to do. That's just the way it is. You can't please everybody.

So this year I didn't plan a thing outside of my own family activities. Days are spent doing stuff (or nothing at all) with my mom and evenings find us all just sitting around. We can all feel Saturday fast approaching, though. Mom has been doing some mending for us (yes, I still bring things home for her to sew) and Dad mentioned that we still need to go out for breakfast before we leave (something him and I always do). I'll probably do one more load of laundry and tell the kids to start gathering up their stray socks. We'll return our library books and make one more run to the grocery store for snacks for the road. It all just goes by so fast.

As I sit here with the cat beside me, however, I realize that he probably has more to be concerned about than we do. Our poor kitty does not handle car rides well. He senses the movement of suitcases and goes into hiding. Right now he is very relaxed. He has no idea what is coming.

That's because right now all is calm. The middle child is listening to his grandpa discuss his idea of impressing girls while the kitchen is raided once again for pumpkin pie. Yes, I have some good friends out there, but I promise you that none are as entertaining as my dad. I am content being right where I am. I'll try to see everybody else the next go-around.

And hope that everyone understands.