Do You See What I See?

by Terrie v.B. 

My handsome Dutch husband and I had a very enjoyable Independence Day, thank you. Our good friends came for dinner. These are people we have known for twenty years. There is a certain comfort level there that is very much appreciated. Our friends know us. We know them. We have a history. Our children grew up together. Unlike the effort that is required to build new relationships, spending time with old friends is not work. With new friends you have to construct a history from the foundation up. With old friends, the foundation is already there. The history has already been written and is being written. You can skip all of the preliminary questions because you already know the answers. Old friends fit. New friends have to be broken in.

Anyway, we spent a couple of hours or so with our friends, talking, eating, swimming. The menu included chips, salsa,  carne asada for tacos, (cooked outside on our shiny new barbecue), rice, beans, guacamole, and fruit salad. Ironic, seeing how we ate and enjoyed Mexican food on our American Independence Day that was cooked by my incredibly handsome, non-citizen but here legally mind you, loyal to his Queen, Dutch husband. The tacos were delicioso.

Our friends left before dark and so it was just us for fireworks. It was a perfectly lovely summer night, and we decided to walk to the Riverside Sports Complex to see the show. We opted not to pay the five bucks to actually get into the stadium. Instead, we did it the “okie” way and just sat on the curb across the street with lots of other people doing it the “okie” way. The fireworks drew the obligatory oohs, aahs and applause. Twenty minutes later, it was time to walk home.

You know, our kids are growing up and although we enjoy our “just the two of us” time very much, it is an adjustment. In some ways, my beloved husband and I are building a new “friendship” together. Our relationship with each other is changing because our relationship with our children is changing. I must say that these changes, although not completely effortless, are certainly worth the effort. We are history in the making.

On the way home that night we spied a lone coyote in the wash beside the road. We lost sight of him in the shadows until he reemerged very near to where we were walking. He was a scraggly guy, nosing around in the brush for who knows what. A moment of poignant significance in the fashioning of our history and much more impressive than mere fireworks.