Visiting old friends in Michigan

What makes a friendship the kind that sustains through the years? I have spent a lot of time wondering about this. I haven't settled on a concrete answer, just yet. Apart from my closest local friends here in Indiana and a few close friends from Texas, the subset of friends that has been the most consistent for me is my childhood friends.

I've known Clara my entire life.* And I've known Sarah and Lauren since my freshman year of high school. These friends have known me long before I was Andrea DeVries. When I was Andrea Peterson, a Minnesotan. Busy with homework, marching band, teaching swimming lessons at a local pool, and youth group. Before moving to Purdue for college and meeting Nicholas, becoming an RN, getting married, and having babies. And here we are now, on the other side of so many life events. Here we are now, the same people that we were as children and teenagers, but also not. To think we were friends as children and now we have our own children.

So, when my friend Lauren shared that she and her husband were expecting a baby(!) and her sister Sarah invited me to a baby shower in Northern Michigan, I started to think about how I could make that happen.

Another dear friend of mine, Clara, lives in Holland, Michigan, and we were overdue for a visit. So we worked it out that Arlo and I would stay with her and her family. Bonus: her parents (my godparents!) were also visiting from Minnesota, and so it felt like a little reunion of sorts.

I left around 3:30 in the afternoon, and after a few stops, we arrived in Holland in the evening. They had kept dinner (taco bowls, yum!) warm for me and we spent the evening catching up, snuggling Arlo, and chatting about life and family. I got to meet their sweet boys, and Clara and I stayed up until nearly midnight talking about anything and everything from kid's sleep to careers and parenting to marriage, the way you can with old friends. And then, after a delicious breakfast that Clara's husband, Jacob, prepared (chorizo and eggs in tortillas), I headed north, stopping for a quick coffee on my way out of town.

*Clara's mom and my godmother, Julie, recounted her memory of the day my mom told her that she was pregnant with me! To think of my mom, younger than I am now, running out of the house in her slippers to tell her friend that she was going to have another baby. What a sweet memory to be invited into!

Arlo slept for nearly the entire drive this time, which allowed me a chance to enjoy the scenery, as well as listen to music and enjoy a rare quiet drive.

The shower for my friend Lauren was at a beautiful barn. I was late, since I miscalculated the length of the drive, but I am still so glad I could attend and celebrate Lauren and their soon-to-arrive little girl. I loved seeing Sarah, Lauren's sister, and their mom, as well. And to think, the last time we were all together was nine years ago! It was so special to see Sarah's girls, and enjoy delicious food, including Sarah's homemade sourdough.

Arlo happily sat in my lap, or napped in the carrier while we visited. What a little trooper. And we got to write out prayers and Bible verses of encouragement for Lauren, for her to use during labor and beyond. I loved this detail.

After the shower, Sarah and Lauren helped clean up and I stuck around for a bit. And then we headed to Lauren and her husband, Parker's farm. If you live in Northern Michigan, please check out their farm! Lauren offered me raw milk and homemade cookies (yes to both, please!) and we got to chat about doulas and birth and canning and their livestock. Sarah arrived with her littlest one, and Lauren gave us a tour of their big, beautiful garden.

All too quickly, it was time for me and Arlo to begin the drive home, so I could make it home before dark. Lauren sent me on my way with some straw flowers from their garden, a few more cookies for the road, and a cooler full of their meat(!) that I preordered.

It was a whirlwind of a trip, with not nearly enough time spent in either destination, but my goodness, I'm so glad I could go.

Those lasting friendships, the ones with people who have known every version of you over the years, for better or worse–cherish those! I love how God created us to crave community and how He gave us a desire to be known, whether we're four, or sixteen, or thirty-four. These kind of friendships that extend grace for the gaps (sometimes years) between visits, and give the comfort of familiarity and so much joy. Thank you, God, for good friends. And next time, let's visit for longer. :)