Friends Make Us Rich, Not Money!

Yesterday, the kids were invited to a friends home to play with their 2 year old son who just loves and adores the kids and they him. These friends also happen to live on some acreage and have a few animals such as these magnificent turkeys which met the oldest at the door and began gobbling at her, so she shot them...........with her camera of course!

I wish I would have had her camera when she went outside and picked up a big stick to take with them as they played and explored the grounds as she was pretty adament she couldn't hurt an animal, but when they explained to her that without her stick, the dominate male would use his feet to knock her to the ground she agreed to take the stick with her.

She would tap the stick hard on the ground and yell, NO and the turkeys would scatter and the kids would start to play again and the turkeys would sneak up on them, it was so cute to watch this game of cat and mouse between the kids and the turkeys. Eventually, the turkeys gave up and went to another corner of the yard to hang out.

This photo is of Bonnie and the kids really love her. For a goat, she is just the sweetest thing and they all love to pet and play with Bonnie. As we were leaving, Bonnie actually came up to the gate and nodded her head at the kids as if to say, 'good-bye.' They also have a male goat, but he isn't as pleasant as Bonnie is so they stay out of his way.

These are the same people who took the kids in when I had my first back surgery and they had so much fun back then playing and running around.

I am writing this post today because I got to thinking how we are poor without friends and yet with friends, no matter what we go through, the most difficult times, as long as we have friends we are rich beyond measure.

I know the kids are growing so quickly and soon, they will not want to go out and hang with the goats and turkeys or run around and romp and play and get their feet soaking wet and their clothes all muddy and then come home and play board games. Soon, this will all pass away, but all of us will have wonderful memories of these days.

The family that shares their home with us, are not rich. The husband has had some serious health issues this past year, he owns his own business and has not had much work this year and she works taking care of others and yet, they open their home to the kids and us and share with us what they have....a fresh hot cup of coffee, home canned applebutter, fresh veggies and fruits and laughter!

I remember when I was a child and my dad was in the Army and we were stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, we were as poor as dirt farmers and yet, we were happy. Why? Because we had friends! When times were rough between paydays, everyone that lived closed to us brought what they had and my mom and other women, made wonderful meals for all of us. If we were lucky, we would have ice cream someone had saved for a special treat!

We attended a church that was right in our neighborhood and had river baptisms, pie eating contests, Sunday School fun and wonderful baseball games in the summer and everyone got to play from the youngest to the oldest. The adults got together and played cards and the kids ran around catching fireflies, frogs or whatever else we could find.

I remember waking up one morning and it had snowed tons the night before and my parents were asleep and I got my brother and sisters to go outside with me for a bucket and we filled it with snow and came in and dumped it on our parents. Oh boy! You could hear my dads screams forever...he wasn't screaming madly, he was screaming because 4 giggling children had just dumped a bucket of snow in his warm dry bed while he was sound asleep.

No, he didn't punish us, but I think he is still trying to figure a way to get back at us. We didn't live in base housing, we lived in an old trailer, but it was clean & warm, we were clean and fed and we were happy.

I oft times wonder what would have happened to all of us during these times when parents were in Viet Nam and some didn't come home if we hadn't had our friends to hang onto? What would have happened between paydays if we hadn't all gotten together and combined food and incomes so everyone could eat?

Today, we are so rushed and exhausted that most of the time we forget to stop and make contact with neighbors and friends and sometimes we may be the only one standing between a friend and a bad decision.

Today, I hope you will remember your friends and make that extra effort to contact them and say, 'I was thinking of you today.'

After all, this picture says it all doesn't it? Only wonderful happy friends pick up there camera to take a picture of you as you are taking one of them to save for their years of memory books!