Amigos

I wonder if their memories will be the same as my memories?  As they looked through the viewfinders of their cameras, were they seeing what I saw?  Were they feeling what I felt?  Were they just as excited to see me as I was to see them?

There used to be more of us, maybe 6 or 7, we all lived in the same city, went to the same church, and raised our children together.  In the summertime, we'd take the kids to the local pool, to the cheap afternoon matinees at the movie theater, and then on to McDonald's or Burger King--whichever one had the best kids toy with the happy meal.  We'd have church picnics in the park, and bar-b-ques at each other's houses.  We celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, job promotions, and graduations together.  Yes, those were the good old days.  Before.  Before some of us (as in me) began to move away, and then another and then another.  Our children grew up, things began to change, but we held on, at least some of us did.  Some of them have experienced a divorce, the loss of a child, an almost divorce, a change of religious beliefs and a move across the country--the last one would be me.  Yes, things change, some are good, some not so good.  But change is, well, change is certain, of that we can be sure.

However, throughout the years some of us have tried hard to get together from time to time for dinners, lunches, or just to grab a coffee whenever we can.  It can be difficult though--life is ever changing, and sadly sometimes we tend to get too busy for our old friends.  Some of us try harder than others too, which is heartbreaking for someone like me, who feeds on nostalgia.  When I fly back to California I frantically email, or call trying to set up times to get together with my old friends.  Honestly, they mean the world to me.  We have those types of ties that usually come about only through blood.  But with us it's different--we love each other, pray for each other, hurt for each other, and cry for each other.  Their pain is my pain, their happiness my happiness.  Really, this is true.

So, when 2 of these old friends called and wanted to come for a visit--I was overjoyed!  And that is putting it mildly.  The minute they bought their tickets I began to make plans.  Yes, I am a planner by nature, I am one of those people.  I had just a few days to show them everything--where I lived, including all things historical--where I ate, including all eateries, and where I shopped, including all our many cute boutiques.  And then there is Chicago!  Oh my goodness, we'd need lots of time for that amazing city!  I wanted them to see what my life is like now and I wanted to play tour guide, and I wanted them to love it here as much as I do.  I had to do all this while juggling my exuberant excitement and joy over the fact that 2 of my closest California friends were coming for a visit!  I was thrilled to have them, if even for just a few days.  I think I was almost to the point of hyperventilating, I was that excited!

We began our first day of being together again by touring Chicago.  I wanted them to experience the Metra--our train--that goes into the city.  I love it.  I had also bought tickets for us to go sailing on Lake Michigan--which I left, accidentally (I might add) sitting on the counter at home.  Change of plans--flip flop the days, my husband and I decided instead to show them Macy's on State Street, and Michigan Ave.  You have to see those when visiting Chicago--it's the law.  Walking from Union Station over to Macy's, touring Macy's and then walking across the river on Wacker Dr, and then walking up the Magnificent Mile--well, I was in tour guide heaven.  They, on the other hand, were panting wildly, I don't think they were used to that much walking.  No worries though, there was, fortunately, a coffee stop in our future.  And water, lots of water.  We had lunch that day at the Purple Pig--it's one of my favorites, kind of like an American version of Tapas.  They had never had Tapas before but ate theirs with a smile on their little faces, so I'm thinking that maybe yes, yes, they liked their Tapas.  And other than wearing them ragged, I think they liked Chicago--how could they not, it's beautiful.  Dinner that night was Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza--another law when visiting Chicago--must eat pizza!  It also seemed to bring a smile to their faces.

Day 2--I thought I'd take it easy on them, we'd stay local.  Sleep in, run over to the outlets--that's always fun, right?  And then we'd meander through downtown Naperville.  Strolling.  Slowly.  We had a wonderful lunch that afternoon at Hugo's Frog Bar and a great day visiting and catching up.  I think I wore them out a bit, so I tried hard to slow down--very hard for me, the slowing down thing--very hard.  I'm typically a goer and a doer, I don't sit down unless I am writing (as in right now) or reading.  I am always on the go.  I had to tell myself that I needed to pace myself, or they'd leave and never want to return.  The jury is still out on how well I did with this little endeavor.  The slowing down thing.  We had dinner that night out on a huge patio at Jimmy's Grill.  It's a great place for people watching, and the food isn't too bad either.  All in all a relaxing day--for me anyway.

Day 3--we finally made it to Navy Pier and to our sailboat.  I remembered the tickets!  What a glorious day it turned out to be.  I took awesome pictures of the city and of them too.  We had lunch on the Pier and then went over to the Bean and Millennium Park, we also walked over to the Buckingham fountain, and took more pictures.  One would have thought that I was a tourist right along with them as much as I was taking pictures.  What a day that was--topped off that evening by visiting with one of their old friends from way back before they even knew me!  What a small world.  Friends from childhood had moved to Chicagoland several years ago and they were able to catch up on old times.  It felt good to be the middleman.  And I also discovered that this friends cousins daughter used to babysit for my kids when they were really little--very small world indeed.  And if you can follow that thread of who's who--you're pretty good at this!

For our last day together I planned a day of extreme shopping at the famous (well, at least to us Chicagoland people) Oak Brook Mall.  We shopped, had a wonderful lunch, great conversation and of course coffee.  Later that afternoon it began to hit me that this was our last day.  Tomorrow they'd be going home.  Back to their lives that no longer included me.  Back to husbands and family and to new friends whom I've never met.  I wanted more time.  I wanted them to meet all of my new friends, to go to my church, to be a part of my life as it is now.  However, that wasn't to be.  Time and miles have separated us.  Funny how that happens.  And sad too.

They flew home early the next morning, and as my husband and I went through the house, changing sheets and cleaning up I noticed that we were both a little sad.  We missed our friends.  We wanted them to come back and stay longer.  No, that's not exactly true, what we wanted was for everything to be just like it used to be.  When our kids were little and life was simpler and we were all friends.   However, life goes on, kids grow up, people move away and yet--there is always a way to maintain those old friendships.  They just need to be tended to, nurtured, and remembered.  I hope they always think of me and our times together--old and new.  I hope that when they look at the pictures of their trip, they remember only the fun times and not the blisters on their feet.  I hope they remember the great food and not the heartburn.  I hope they remember the sharing of funny stories from our past and not the sad ones.  I hope they remember that I'll always be here for them even if they'll always be way over there.

You see, these few women--they are and will forever be my sweet amigos.

In the reflection of the Bean

On my back deck

Mexican food!

The 3 amigos

Sailing on Lake Michigan

The wind in our face

Lunch on Navy Pier--Chicago

Our French gift--the Metra sign