seven days of normal abnormality

HI! I'm back.

It's been a whirlwind of a week and it feels like it should be Friday...or Saturday...or one of those days when you don't have to do anything. BUT, amidst the busyness and the days that seem to never slow down, it's been a great last seven days.

My friend came to Asheville.

Robin and I have been friends for about 10 years. We met in Aberdeen, SD at the airport. So weird. We both lived there, but were both picking people up. We started talking...we clicked...we've been friends ever since.

Our age difference is about 18 years, but we've found that matters not at all. People assume our friendship is more like a mentor ship type friendship, but that is not so at all either. We teach each other. Learn from each other. She homeschooled her four kids and she helps me with that. We are unlikely, but true.

After three whole months of having nobody at our house but us, it was a weird feeling to have someone else there...like we were super sheltered. I loved sharing our new home and city with someone else.

We took her all over...and we also just hung out at home. We did normal stuff, like we always did, like eat lunch at my house and eat Swedish fish and fold laundry, but we're in Asheville now. We did stuff, but didn't.  A perfect busy/not busy balance.

We have a big park near our house and walked the trails one day.

We did some crafting, one of our favorite pastimes. I showed her how to needle felt and we dabbled in a little mixed media.

One night, we were going to Jim Weiss, a storyteller that's pretty popular in the homeschool community, to listen to him tell stories. It was down pouring and I had printed off the directions to the wrong venue and we drove around in circles for a good hour and a half. We finally threw in the towel and went for ice cream.

Do y'all have Tutti Frutti?? It's super. You choose your yogurt flavor and then all the toppings you want. Then you pay by the ounce. It's a good thing.

Robin read Little Women to Sophia every night. Sophia loves it. 

We took her to a bunch of yummy restaurants and ate and drank. We also cooked a lot together. She makes the best guacamole...we ate a lot of that.

And yesterday, her last full day with us, we took her to some of the waterfalls. It was a gorgeous day. Gorgeous. We hiked and breathed in the beauty. I just kept thinking, "God is just so cool. Cool and creative. Everything could look the same on this earth, but yet it's all different. And beautiful." I love that God is creative.

We finished off the day with Rummikub and wine and laughed till our sides hurt...a great way to end a visit.

So I drove her to the airport bright and early this morning and we said our goodbyes yet again. It feels like we just did that. And well...we did. It's weird that this is my life now. I hardly ever had overnight guests in South Dakota. But I have more company coming to stay with me in the next couple months to start a hotel. It's weird that I'll be taking my loved ones to the airport to say goodbye. It's different...but it's ok. I feel myself changing...in a good way.

This trip meant a lot to me, but an extra lot to Robin. She's had a really super crappy 2011. We had long talks and made lists of things she's going to do when she gets home. I hope she left here feeling refreshed and ready to make big changes....I think she did.

Now I'm off to get back to normal...for the next six days...when my mom comes :)

Happy Wednesday, loves.