I'm not usually a early-morning riser. (For anyone who knows me well...that is a drastic understatement!) The reason for not loving the early morning is that I love the wee hours of the night when all is quiet, the phones aren't ringing, the family is sound asleep and there are generally no disruptions. I tend to get all my reading done then, spend some quiet time with God, watch a bit of TV, or update my blog.  I love knowing I that I have hours of peace and quiet.

But, as I was saying...this morning I was up at the crack of dawn preparing lunch for a dear friend who is coming to visit. I thought I'd pull out all the stops and make a proper British Tea for her - tiny, finger sandwiches; scones with jam and devonshire cream; fresh strawberries with frozen yogurt and edible flowers for decoration; tea cookies; and, of course, tea. (Or, iced coffee if the afternoon should get too hot!)

I'm so excited to see her.  I have been friends with her longer than anyone else I know.  For  almost thirty years we have shared similar journeys, though sometimes our paths have diverged and taken us briefly in different directions. We became Christians around the same time, got married within a few years of each other, have children who are almost the same age, and began the homeschooling challenge together. She's the kind of friend who makes me feel like I've just seen her even though we might not have talked for ten years. We just pick up where we left off as though time hadn't intervened.

Those kinds of friendship are easy friendships. They don't require lots of maintenance, or hours of slogging through preliminaries before getting into the deep stuff. We just plunge right in, feeling comfortable and secure because we've known each other for so long. Love you, Marilyn!