Most people would not welcome a rainy Sunday morning, but I’m not aligning with most people these days. On this particular morning, I step onto the front steps of our home and listen to the sound of the rain, grateful for the downtrodden aspect of atmosphere. My lifelong friend Ann has just departed after a weekend of fun and friendship rejuvenation – a time where two old friends could just relax into the easy cadence of our youth, reveling in how much things have changed – and how our friendship remains the same.
Pulling the golden streamers that framed the doorway, I toss them down and see them pool into a sparkling pretty mess. This will likely be our final Solid Gold Summer gathering – I’m too tired and apathetic to rally and plan for more golden moments – and scheduling things with kids is too impossible to try. Leaving it in the hands of others means nothing will happen, and I’m happily reconciled to that.
Spending the weekend with Ann (and a dinner with Missy and Carla) reminded us of how important it is to nourish the soul by having this kind of time together. We did little else but talk and laugh (with a quick trip to Schenectady to get some goodies at Perecca’s) and it was absolutely what we needed to highlight this tender time of summer.
I miss her already, and the rain feels like a fitting coda to complete a beautiful weekend – a happy echo that will reverberate throughout the fall and winter whenever we need a memory of joy.
