The Auldridges

Over the last two weekends, I have seen some people that I don’t often get to see. Two weekends ago we traveled down to Bristol, VA to see Jeph and Heidi–Shari’s brother and his wife–and their little boy Grant. They have done me the favor of documenting the details of the weekend ;), so I will simply add our sentiment. We really had a good time and it is always nice to see them. The drive to and fro was long, but not unbearable and the boys did great. Caleb did some napping and the portable DVD player came in quite handy. Grant is getting bigger and he and our boys enjoyed seeing each other and playing. They are very loving with each other, though Caleb showed his 3 year old colors a few times. We made some good memories rolling tomalles, playing in the park, studying the Word of God, and just being together. The sad part was the reminder of how far away we are from them and Shari’s other sibling, Jennifer and her husband Ron and little girl Cierra. Saying goodbye to come home was, as usual, no fun. I think Gabe was especially sad. Anyway, thanks to Jeph and Heidi for putting us up, and putting up with us, for the 4 day wekeend.

This past weekend I saw some people that I see even less often than our far flung family members. Shari and I attended my 10th high school reunion. I wasn’t sure if I was really looking forward to this or not, but I must say I had a very good time. My parents watched out 3 boys overnight (which is a large undertaking) and Shari was very loving and gracious to sit in the smoke filled club in which we all met for around 6 hours and not complain about the boredom or tiredness from which she was suffering. This freedom really allowed me to sit back, relax, and enjoy the time reminiscing. Seeing some of those people again and reliving some memories that I had almost completely lost was really quite enjoyable. I had a lot of good laughs and there were even some elementary school and sixth grade pictures going around that really dredged up some old forgotten times. The funny thing is that I forgot just how bad I really was in school and it gave me some needed perspective in case I ever have to deal with one of my boys acting similarly in school (though, from the latest parent teacher conferences, it doesn’t seem like I need to worry about it).

One thing that really hit me at this reunion was how little time I have in my life that I dedicate to cultivating friendships. Other than work, family, and attending church I don’t do a whole lot. I have no regular contact with people who I have considered as friends. I have seen in the last year or so that this is detrimental to me. There have even been studies about this recently saying that most of our society is like this now and how unhealthy it is. So I have set about moving forward in healing some relationships and developing that network of friendship that a person needs to have in their lives.

Here’s to catching up with people, learning life’s lessons, and moving forward!