Old Friends and New

At the end of July, my childhood friend Kelsey paid us a visit for around 10 days.  She's currently enrolled in an Occupational Therapy graduate program at the University of Washington, and she applied for a weeklong internship at Johns Hopkins so she could come pay us a visit while also completing one of her program's requirements.  Kelsey was on my new soccer team when I moved to Oregon before fifth grade, and we've been friends ever since.  She, Krista, and I grew up together and logged more hours in one another's company than many people who actually live together, I think.  For eight years we participated in the same activities and took the same classes, but for the past ten years we've lived in different states and, at times, different countries, so it was interesting for me to think about the ways we've changed.

It was great to have Kelsey here to see what my life is like now and to have a chance to share some of my favorite experiences with her.  We had been hoping to go hiking in Harpers Ferry the first weekend she was here, but with temperatures over 100 degrees, that wasn't possible.  She was working pretty long hours at the hospital, but we still managed to squeeze in several fun activities during her visit.

On her first day in town, we all headed down to Annapolis.  She needed some new running shoes, so I took her to the running shop that sponsors our Annapolis Striders races and the owner helped her find the perfect shoe.  In addition to walking around downtown in the heat and grabbing lunch, Billy took this photo of us in front of Ego Alley.

Midweek, we took a break from schizophrenia case studies and German homework to head down to Fells Point in Baltimore for their summertime outdoor movie.  Kelsey thought Fells was a cool neighborhood, and we enjoyed dinner and gelato and sat down to watch the movie.  Then we decided we were too tired to sit outside to watch a movie we could barely see or hear, so we headed home.  Just in case we needed a reminder that we're not 16 anymore.  : )  Here we are on the Fells pier in front of the Harbor.

On Kelsey's second weekend here, Billy's family got crabs, so she got to see why they're called "Blue Crabs" and why Old Bay is sold in a 2 gallon container.   I think she ate two, which is two more than I ate.  I'm glad Kelsey got to experience this quintessential Maryland tradition and spend a little bit of time with Billy's family.

Kelsey was also here for the most recent Annapolis Striders race, so she ran the 8k with me.  Or, I should say, she ran the 8k far ahead of me-- she's fast!  She has participated in several large races, including the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon and whole bunch of shorter races, but this was the first time she'd run in a race hosted by a running club.  She couldn't believe how cheap it was!  It sounds like she has caught the running bug, and she just started training for a marathon, so I was glad to help her experience what I see as the advantages of participating in smaller local races.  For the first time in a while, I really enjoyed the race.  The weather has been so hot that I have hardly run outside in the past month, so I wasn't sure how I'd do, but the temps cooled down for the race and I was able to post a time that was one minute faster than last year's time for the same race.  I felt great throughout the race and the course is sort of cross-country style through trails, so it was definitely a fun change from the past two races where I've felt pretty miserable.  I don't know why Kelsey felt compelled to capture this moment on film, but since she did, here's the photo. : )

Later that day, we took Kelsey to the opening weekend of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic (more on that in an upcoming post), and though she doesn't follow tennis, I think she enjoyed being out in the sun (while it lasted) and seeing some high quality play up close.  She didn't know who any of the players were, but she dutifully took pictures of them as if she thought they were as big a deal as I do.  : )  She also got to join me and Billy for our first ever rain delay at the tournament which was, unfortunately, not the last.  You can tell from the photo that everything is damp.

While she was here, we also went to see Inception (which I now want to see a second time), she got to experience Sunday morning breakfast at Panera with Danielle, and I think she did more shopping than she has probably done all year.  Having Kelsey and Vickie stay with us has made me realize how much shopping I do without actually buying anything, because those two go with me to be nice and then they end up buying while I walk out empty handed.  I finally made my first purchase in quite a while when I took Kelsey shopping in Georgetown, and since I did not follow the directions I'd written down on the way into or out of DC, she got to see plenty of the city!  After opting out of waiting in line for a Georgetown Cupcake, she discovered a s'mores/krispy treat hybrid at Dean & Deluca which I promptly plan to replicate.  She also spent a morning in McKeldin while I went to German class, and she marveled at our beautiful mall.  She claims that it could also be called a quad, in which she is obviously mistaken, because look how un-quadish it is! : )

In general, I think the time Kelsey and I have spent apart has made more evident the differences in our personalities that I completely overlooked when we were young.  It was interesting to talk to Kelsey about the priorities we have in our lives right now and realize how differently we think through the issues we face in our lives.  I realized that these days the people I seek out as friends share worldviews nearly identical to my own, but spending time with Kelsey reminded how helpful it can be to participate in friendships with people who look at the world differently.  I always try to look at issues from every angle I can think of, but there are always angles I can't think of, and speaking to those people who see them naturally can certainly help me to see the whole picture.

And because it would be remiss to not mention it, I MUST add that Krista had her new baby girl last week!!  Evie Kate was born healthy on August 4!  Krista said that she looks like Clara but with Jordan's coloring instead of her own, and I definitely agree.  It's funny that it worked out this way because I have been saying for months I want her to look just like Clara but with dark curly hair, and Kelsey said something similar when she visited... and now here the little one is, satisfying our expectations!  Visit the Hoffmanns' blog to read more about Evie's arrival.

(Old Friends and New is a short story collection by Sarah Orne Jewett.  I am actually surprised to realize that I've never read any of the stories collected in this volume, so I looked at Willa Cather's collection titled The Best Stories of Sarah Orne Jewett, and it appears that Willa didn't consider Old Friends and New to be Ms. OJ's finest work.  Mystery solved.)