This weekend I called Allyson. As I can no longer spend Thursday afternoons in her living room, this is the only way we communicate. It isn't nearly as nice as her home, but it works until I see her again.

We were not on the phone thirty seconds before I could hear some shouting in the background and Allyson excused herself for a moment. When she returned, she told me Silas was on the kitchen table. Silas is her youngest (until April) and turned one last month. He does not yet walk or stand for a long time by himself. But this past week he learned to maneuver the chairs around the kitchen table so he can crawl up into the chair and then onto the table. A little boy after my own heart - I was forever climbing as a kid.

Then I got to talk to Violet and Seth. Violet thanked me for the book I had sent her for her birthday a couple of weeks ago. She told me quite proudly she is now five. I asked if she were coloring pictures that afternoon. Of course she was. She told me she was coloring one she received for her birthday. It was of a little girl eating popcorn. She gave the girl a purple shirt with a red jumper. Every picture Violet colors must have the color purple in it.

Seth is two years old and loves to chatter. So, he first told me he was two. Then he told me some story about digging, and digging, and digging in the dirt and leaves. Then he chased some birds. The story ended with a dog on a skateboard. Somehow I missed the middle of the story...

Allyson and I caught up with each others lives. I always find hers much more interesting, for the kids are always up to something. Then we talk about the things the Lord has been teaching us or the lessons He often reminds us of. I hang up an hour later, my joy of talking with Allyson tinged with a bit of sadness as I think of all the afternoons I miss sitting in Allyson's living room, reading and playing with the kids, and just enjoying a day spent with my wonderful friend.

But until I book my next flight to New Hampshire, or the Lord opens up a door to return for good; the telephone works. And I am thankful for it.