Old Friends and New

Before we moved to DC, Steve and I lived out in Philadelphia’s Main Line, the endless strip of affluent small towns stretching west of the City, along the rail line. The area just oozes small town charm, and while we were far from affluent, living in a small apartment above a shop in a Victorian structure, we were made to feel comfortable by those that were. We never felt out of place, and made good friends.

We lived in the Victorian on the left for 3 years.

Last week, one of those friends invited Steve to attend a soccer game with him in the new stadium built to house Philly’s new MLS team. Samantha and I decided to tag along and do some visiting. Our long-time friends, Mark and Lorrie, generously offered to have us stay with them for a few nights at their house, as their sons have since grown up and moved out, leaving several empty bedrooms. (Let me pause here to say that this trip also served to make me feel pretty old. These two sons had been children when we saw them last, when we lived in that area. Children. Wow. Now one of them is engaged to be married.) We had such an amazing time with them – great company, great food, great weather and great fun playing their Wii after Sammi went to bed (first time playing Rock Band, an experience I will never forget, thanks to Mark’s, uh, enthusiastic singing…). Samantha was in super-charm mode the entire time, which made the trip particularly fun.

Sammi and Mark

Steve and Lorrie

We paid a surprise visit to a cousin we hadn't seen in many years...

Samantha and Cousin Kevin

...had dinner with high school friends...

Kristin and Tricia

...chased rabbits at dusk...

See previous blog post for more of the rabbit-chasing...

...and frolicked in bubbles.

Sammi with the bubble machine Mark & Lorrie gave her.

And…we had a playdate with our blog friends from ReJenerationS! We discovered that they lived nearby and were so excited to meet them! Samantha, Sophia and Helena had a great time playing together, with a little bit of toy tug-of-war, but that’s to be expected from the under-5 (aw, heck, make that under-20) set. They’re a wonderfully down-to-earth family that we feel very privileged to have met.

Samantha and her new friends.

Sharing a love of Kai-lan.

I think we won’t let another 14 years elapse before paying another visit to our old stomping grounds.