The week at a glance - Part 3

We were the new girls in town in the ninth grade; she was Melissa Dugan and I was Gracie Mae in the fall school play. We played softball together on the Baptist church team though neither of us went to that church, climbed out of my bedroom window in the middle of the night to walk around the neighborhood and thought we hadn't been discovered, passed notes in English class, spent the night at each other's houses more times than I can count, visited each other's relatives, were in each other's weddings, and more. After college, she moved to Seattle, me to California, then Kenya, Massachusetts, and other places. Thankfully, our parents have stayed in the same small South Carolina town, making it easier for us to see each other from year to year. No matter how much time passes since we've seen or talked with each other, we pick up right where we left off, no awkward pauses, no need to apologize for the length of time between communication. And joy of joys, our families love each other and have an great time when we get together.

This week, my long-time best friend, Teresa (I've always spelled it Tresa - just a best friend thing) and her four wonderful children came for a visit. From Tuesday to Thursday, we had the Curtis family with us and it was a very special time, indeed! My stomach hurt from laughing so much, I'm tired from staying up late, we ate, played, swam, talked and talked and talked. I wanted the visit to go on and on but on Thursday, Tresa was expected at her mom's for a family celebration. But we cherished those two very full days and can't wait til the next time!

Do you know how hard it is to get a decent picture of the two of us??? Next to impossible. We thought we were looking...well...um...rather 50-ish here(Tres is and I almost am) so we kept trying.



With my penchant for closing my eyes at the shutter click,



OK, OK, I'll keep them open,



And with all the help from mischievous children...



Well, we're just happy that after many tries, on the last morning, we finally got a halfway decent picture!



A rousing soccer game is a tradition whenever the Pinckney and Curtis kids get together...



This year we added disc golf,



Upwords,



and Nertz (I don't know if that's how you spell it. It's sort of like Dutch Blitz but with regular decks of cards)



The Curtis kids



Andrew Curtis - Andrew Pinckney's language learning inspiration



Emma



Rose and...



Pastor Peter, Padre, Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater

Thanks for coming, y'all (yes, we even discussed things like grammar and the proper spelling of the word ya'll, I mean y'all). Come back soon!