Friends

People meet and become friends through many ways. They can meet through school, work, their neighborhood, clubs, talking to a stranger, sports, activities, hobbies, pets, social functions, in a restaurant and through their kids.

Three years ago my daughter and granddaughters were at the Hard Rock in Moscow on a late winter Saturday. The girls were playing in the bounce house and there was a little girl in the bounce house that they met and this little girl was having the time of her life. She'd not only never been in a bounce house but she'd never even seen one. The reason is because it was her first day out of the orphanage and she and her mom had just arrived in Moscow on the train from St. Petersburg to finalize her American passport and paperwork before flying to her new home and joining her family in the US. Well this little girl's mother and my daughter met and my daughter invited them back to their apartment for dinner. Both moms had never done anything like this but just had a trust in the other person. Well, the two moms and the 3 girls spent the next few days together and my daughter showed them some of the highlights of Moscow. The mom and the little girl flew home to the US and were met by the dad and the 2 brothers and 1 sister at the airport.

The little girl's mom had been blogging about their adoption journey and my daughter started reading the blog. I then started reading the blog and from it went to her sisters and mom's blogs and often left comments. About 6 months later the mom's mother was coming to MA on a business trip so my girlfriend and I drove to Sturbridge to meet her for dinner. My girlfriend had heard me talk about the blogs I'd been reading and about the little girl's grandma that is our age so she wanted to come along. Well, we met at the Public House and the three of us had the most lovely evening and felt like we'd known each other for years. We'd brought pictures and gifts for each other and hated our evening to end.

Fast forward another six months and I was devastated when my sweet dachshund died. My new friend was driving home one night and saw a sign advertising dachshund puppies for sale so she stopped and then called me later that night. She found a new puppy for me, bought the dog, had her vet check her out and took very loving care of her for the week (even bringing her to work each day). My friend and I drove up to their house (about 5 hours away) for overnight on the weekend to pick up my dog and visit. We hated to leave as we had such a wonderful time and felt like we were guests in a B&B as their home is beautiful and their hospitality was beyond words.

A year later the mom and the little girl (and one of her brothers), the grandma and moi all decided on a last minute trip to visit my daughter in Moscow over Mother's Day weekend last May. Then last summer when my daughter was at my house, the 4 of us drove up to the grandma's to visit as the little girl, her mom, 2 brothers and sister were at grandma and grandpa's.

Next week the grandma is back in MA on business and my girlfriend and I are meeting her at Old Sturbridge Village for the day and dinner at a local restaurant.

Isn't this a wonderful story about how friendships can happen?