The Delight of Old Friends Returning

My family and I spent a beautiful afternoon and evening at the pool last night, visiting with the Balan family, folks who moved into and out of our lives and now are back in again. Their presence in our lives was an unexpected gift, but when they moved away several years ago. I figured we'd never see them again.

And yet..."He has made all things good in their time."


Margo was our sons' CCD teacher several years ago; the year L. made his First Communion. A young mother of two baby boys, she was so full of inspiration and imagination about the faith that folks at the parish still were talking about her, years after she and her husband moved to South Bend so he could pursue a master's degree in architecture. Margo, many years my younger, was the person who explained to me (and to the other "First Communion Moms") the Eucharist and its connection to the Communion of Saints in a way that was profound, inspiring and unforgettable. During the family's first stint in New Jersey, Margo's husband, Zeke Balan, renovated and redesigned our parish's Eucharistic Chapel (pictured above), down to the mosaics, the stations of the cross and the holy water font. It remains a place of noble, simple beauty.

Imagine our delight when the Balans let us know they have returned to New Jersey, and now are parenting three (and counting) young children. They live about 40 minutes from us now. We are all so moved that they have been put into our lives again. We all are. As I swam my laps last night, I could hear my husband and Margo laughing in their pool chairs about 25 yards away. I managed to snap a pretty good shot of Margo and their children with my camera phone.

After six chlorinated hours yesterday, I fell asleep with an aching right ear. My physician doesn't have an open appointment until Monday morning. So I headed to bed with Advil and my new Ipod touch, which arrived via UPS just before noon.

Our 14 year old continues to astonish me. He had selected this refurbished iPod touch from the Apple webpage, then, when it arrived, spent an hour or so programming it with music he knows I will like. He showed his middle-aged mom how it works before offering to ride his bike to the deli to buy me some lunch.

Our son tells us the iPod touch is "intuitive." I'm still fumbling around. What is old is new again, right? Praise God.