I Couldn't Just Say No

This year, Rionn is doing 4-H.  And he likes it.  He's made new friends.  And I'm comfortable in it since I'm a 4-H alumni. Well, our plate is pretty full.  And yesterday, the dog leader and the community leader called me.  Our community leader requires each project to have a co leader.  And well, Rionn's dog project doesn't.  So I was asked to step up to the plate.  And I couldn't just say no.  I mean, co leader means that I just show up to the meetings.  Which I already do anyways.  I mean, it takes a lot of stuff for Scooby to be Rionn's 4-H dog.  So now I'm co leader.  And next year, maybe I'll do a sewing project.  Who knows.  I'll probably be in charge of taking pictures for record books.

You'd Never Know It

Yesterday, I did something out of the norm.  I went and had lunch with a person that I've never met.  And with my kids no less.  Near the Mexico border too.  I must admit, my anxiety was a little high.  I mean, who drives to 2- 2 1/2 hours for lunch?  With a stranger?

But it wasn't like that at all.  I met a friend.  A friend who've I know since Rionn was born.  But we've never met in person.  When I had Rionn, I was lost.  You can read all of the books.  You can ask all of the questions and get all of the advice.  Some of it helps.  It really does.  But sometimes, you just need someone who IS walking in your shoes.  And my lunch buddy was just that.  She also has a little boy (and by little, I mean 9 years old) who is the same age as Rionn.  We "met" on an online forum before Facebook was around.  (And yes, I'm that old.  LOL)  Currently, there are still around 40 of us that still "talk" to each other via social media.

Anyways, back to lunch.  I sent her a text letting her know we were there.  And before we got to the hotel door, she was walking down the street.  We recognized each other right away.  Like we were old friends meeting for our weekly Sunday brunch.  I was kinda surprised how normal it felt.  She wanted "authentic" Mexican food.  And the place I found was closed, so when we got there, we looked for several other places.  They were closed too.  So we drove around for a while.  LOL.  I'm not sure if it was because it was Sunday.  Or the super bowl.  But we had a tough time finding a non sports bar restaurant open.  Anyways, we found a spot.  And it was soo good.  I kinda laughed though.  Here in Southern California, we take for granted what "authentic" Mexican food is.  Most places are authentic.  But I forget that we live so close to the border.

We ate lunch.  We talked about kids, and school, and jobs, and chickens.  Just like old friends do.  On our drive home, I realized that she is one of those truly know what it's like from walking in your shoes friend.  And that's what mothers everywhere need.  I'm so lucky to have found just such a group of moms.  And hopefully we'll be lifetime friends.  And maybe even have a graduation reunion for our kiddos.  Maybe.