It all started about 21 years ago when Shari and her beautiful family moved in next door to us. What a blessing they were to our family! Our kids played together all the time and Shari and I had a walking date just about every evening after supper. I didn't realize how blessed I was until they moved to Iowa in 1995, right before school started.
But, thankfully, that wasn't the end of our friendship. We made a plan to write to each other and sure enough, we did. We have exchanged at least one letter every week since 1995, 17 years ago. We've visited each other a few times during those years but the letter exchange has been the focal blessing to us. We have raised our kids together, talked (written) through family and social issues, given and taken wisdom and encouragement, and just generally loved each other through the roller coaster of life.
So I was really happy when Shari's oldest daughter, Rachel (see The Greene Family blog to the right), contacted me and said she wanted to plan a surprise birthday trip for her mom with me and another old friend from early marriage days. After much planning, scheming, and (let's just call it what it is) lying, the three of us made it to Branson, MO last weekend and celebrated Shari's 50th.
It was already so much fun just to meet up with Shari and share her birthday but I had the added bonus of being able to meet her friend, Jocelyn Strobbe, and we hit it off like we'd been friends for a long time. We spent three days talking, eating, seeing the sights, and laughing.....lots and lots of laughing!
So happy 50th birthday to you, my dear friend, Shari! Your next letter will be in the mail soon!
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| me Shari Jocelyn |
