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A Visit with Friends

Trey, Joshua, Ali, and Madi
One challenging aspect of Army life is leaving behind friends when you move to a new location ... and being the ones left behind when good friends leave you.  My children have experienced the loss of best friends moving across the country -- and sometimes across the globe! -- and although painful, oftentimes they are more resilient for it.

One such family became dear to us starting in 2005.  Trey and Madi were in Kindergarten together and quickly became good friends.  They maintained and built upon that initial friendship, enduring the teasing and taunts of their classmates as they got older.  Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?  Are you getting married?  It was (mostly) in good fun and the two of them did a fine job of ignoring the jabs.  They were simply great friends.  They both have a love of Pokemon and played it endlessly on the playground, after school, on their DS games and with the Wii system.  They share codes and tricks and have a great time doing that.  They're both super-smart kids and enjoy the outdoors.  Mostly, they just enjoy being together.

Their friendship has caused a few interesting conversations between her mother and me (which, incidentally, we became good friends as well!).  When Madi had a sleepover birthday party in the 2nd grade, should Trey attend?  He was her best friend and she really wanted him to be there, but was the only boy invited.  Madi's mom and I discussed it and, with the opinions of our husbands weighing in, decided Trey and Madi could celebrate her birthday at another time. 

The year before they moved away, Madi's younger sister, Ali, and my youngest son, Joshua, were in the same Kindergarten class as well.  They attended a private school in Killeen that is very family-oriented, creating a whole new aspect to our families' growing friendship.  Joshua and Ali remain friends to this day, but it is still Trey and Madi who insist on maintaining an active friendship.

It's been 2 1/2 years since we were neighbors, but the friendship established then is still going strong.  In a wonderful twist of fate, Madi's family's new home is on the route to my own parent's home!  We try to stop and see them every chance we get ... Christmas and summer, usually, and they have become regular attendees at my mom's annual Halloween party as well.  We're happy they still get to enjoy each other's company and had a simply fabulous visit this last week.  We had lunch at their house and let the kids play ... as we visited and played a few board games, too.  It was a wonderful visit and I am forever thankful for good friendships.

Trey and Madi
Fun times with the Wii

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