Lunch With Melinda & Carol

Yesterday Griffin and I had lunch with two of our very favorite people in the world ... our neighbor friends Melinda and Carol. We met at Cracker Barrel and had a fantastic meal together!!


When Mike and I moved to Virginia the summer of 2003, I didn't know one single person here. Imagine my surprise when two of my wonderful neighbors became fast friends!

Carol is the first person that I ever did anything with here in Virginia. She called me up a couple of days after moving here and asked if I wanted to go to the library. Yes, I said!! With Carol, I obtained my first ever library card! What a wonderful person she is. She and her husband winter in Florida (my home state) so I feel a bit sad every year when they pack up and leave us for a few months. But then, when spring arrives ... so do they. They take long walks and it's always SO nice to see them. Many times if G and I are outside, they will stop by for a quick chat. And Carol is my Avon Lady. I had never had an Avon Lady before ... and you know what? I love that I have her to share her wonderful catalogs/products with me. And she and her husband also share their fresh homegrown veggies with us ... I love that ... it's just SO sweet!!

And Melinda ... well, the first time I met her I thought to myself ... she is a true southern belle. She is just the sweetest, kindest, most spiritual person you will ever meet. Not only is she beautiful on the outside, she's beautiful inside as well. Melinda is what I call the "real deal". What you see is what you get. She is who she is no matter who she's around. There is nothing at all false about her. Since I've met Melinda I've called her "Super Mom". She can do EVERYTHING! She has been there for me on so many occasions. One of the main things that pops into my mind is when she accompanied me to the pre-natal specialist when I was pregnant with Griffin. Because of my age, I was considered a high risk pregnancy and I was encouraged to have an amniosantesis. Well, the day we went together I did not expect to have this done. Mike was out of town ... but Melinda was there and after talking to Mike about it on the telephone and talking it over with the doctor and Melinda ... I decided to go ahead and do it. I will never, ever forget how she held my hand through the entire process. It was so scary, and she was there to calm me.


(Andi, I borrowed this picture from your blog)

See this cookbook? I now own it because Melinda picked it up for me yesterday. After lunch she was going to Walmart and asked Carol and me if we needed anything. I told her I would love to have this cookbook. I gave her $20 and she said she would pick it up for me. Well, later in the afternoon she did indeed bring the cookbook by my house, but it was in a Barnes & Noble bag, not a Walmart bag. They did not have it at Walmart, so she made a special trip to Barnes & Noble to get it for me. I could not believe she made a special trip to B&N to pick this book up for me. I told her that ... and you know what she said? I really wanted you to have it. Now how sweet is that????

I consider myself lucky to call these two wonderful ladies my friends! I'm so very fortunate to have been blessed with their frienship.