15/48 Walks - Reconnect

Earlier this week, I went on one of my favorite walks yet.

A walk with a great friend I had not seen in 10 years. One who moved very near to me a few months back, that is now leaving again.

She had not even gotten the chance to meet my kids yet.

We were always active with each other on the Facebook, little messages here and there.

I am regretting the time I spent in the periphery of my friends life. She struggled silently, for months, and I had no idea. Now she is leaving the area again. Probably for good.

I am beyond grateful that even amidst the stress of packing, and parenting, and relationship struggles she made the time to meet up so we could at least catch up before we said goodbye.

We had tossed the idea of going to see a movie. Maybe The Fault in Our Stars or Maleficent.
That meant I would need childcare because my 2 year old will not even sit through a kid's movie. Let alone a dialogue heavy grown up movie, or a possibly scaryish one. I really wanted my son to meet my friend and her kids though...

Then I thought- Movies are super expensive. She is moving. She doesn't have a job lined up yet,  she will be paying for 5 tickets + we won't be able to chat and catch up in a movie.

So I asked if she wanted to go on a hike instead, since it is way cheaper and will give us more time to chat.
Thankfully, she accepted.

We had such an awesome time. Our kids immediately hit it off.

I am totally kicking myself for not doing this sooner. We both just thought we would have more time.

In total there were 9 of us (including my husband and her daughter's boyfriend) wandering through the woods together. When we arrived at the Sound the kids dispersed with a little encouragement and we were able to sit quietly and talked until the sunset. A total luxury when there are small children afoot.

It was an intense talk that yanked on my heart strings. It also reinforced the respect I have for this friend's inner strength, compassion, and selflessness. She is a golden soul and I am so grateful to have these new memories to put in our lifelong memory bank.

On to the photos;