...continued...
The situation at our friend's house grew more and more difficult. Their daughter Stacy and her boys virtually ran for their lives. Restraining orders were put into place, divorce proceedings began, counseling sessions all around. Very slowly, healing began. Whenever Rick and I would contact Jane and Steve to update them on our news, we'd hold our breath as we heard the latest developments with their family. We were scared for them. And there was nothing we could do but be supportive from afar. The one thing we heard over and over from Jane was that Rick and I had helped her and Steve as much as they'd helped us. We'd been the recipients of a ripple, starting with their generosity, that we bounced right back to them, when they most needed it and least expected it.
Seems like our presence in their home for a few weeks that winter had put them on the right track. They told us that the friendship we shared with them encouraged them. Jane said that we somehow gave them some calm and some peace when we were their guests. I don't know that we did that on purpose, but the relationship that Rick and I share often rubs off on people that way. I do know that we had many long conversations over dinner and wine (or Steve's beer). We all shared parts of our histories, our hopes, plans and dreams. To use that trite phrase, we bonded. And somehow, that invincible feeling of hope that Rick and I were feeling rubbed off onto Jane and Steve. So when the going got tough, and then progressively tougher, they stayed strong, for themselves and for their family.
As things continued to see-saw up and down with Stacy and her boys, a healing rhythm was building in Jane and Steve's home. Stacy reclaimed herself. The boys struggled with confusion regarding their father but had deep love and support from their Mom and their grandparents. Rick and I got updates that became gradually more positive and encouraging, along with photos of the boys, now growing into young men. As one by one the hurdles in the way of the family's happiness were knocked down, a plan for a vacation was formulated. There would be a trip to Arizona, to visit Jane and Steve's son and daughter-in-law. There would also be a visit to the Grand Canyon.
By all accounts, the trip was a great success. The boys loved it, the family was all together for the first time in a very long while. Coincidentally, on the return flight to Connecticut, there would be a layover at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Rick and I drove to meet them for a little while between their flights.
It was so great to see them all together! They were tired but happy. We could see and feel the happiness and peace on all their faces. And the thing that made it so incredible...they had decided that by the same time the following year, the whole bunch of them would move to Arizona, for good. It was time for their adventure; time for our friends to realize their dreams like Rick and I had. It was their time to head west.
Over this last year, more roadblocks popped up in the way of their dreams, but each and every time, they met the challenges head-on and kept focused on the future. Finally, in mid-June, when the boys had finished the school year, they were off! Their POD was picked up, their cars too, and the 5 of them flew out of Connecticut, toward their new home, their new life. Just like Rick and I had, they had chosen a 'do-over'. The ripple that began when Jane and Steve welcomed us into their home, into their lives, had echoed back over them. The sense of infinite possibility that Rick and I felt, still feel, now bathed our good friends. Their adventure has begun.
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