Friends need to stay in touch

Sunday our dear friends Robin and Patrick Dickson drove up from East Lansing . We hadn't seen them in one year! Friends need to stay in touch. Hugs, pokes in the shins, brushing elbows, every touch counts. Otherwise a friendship is skin-deficit, not unlike 'nature-deficit,' the sub-title of a book Patrick spontaneously gave me. Sitting on the deck, we caught up on all fronts while enjoying Chalk Hill Chardonnay. Robin has the world's most infectious laugh, and it was wonderful hearing it sprinkled throughout our conversatin. Later Sarah, Robin and I swam in the lake. Later still we grilled brats and finally drove to The Big Lake. Robin and Patrick had to get home, so we said good-bye with hugs and kisses. As Mark, Sarah, Felicia and I watched a glorious sunset, I thought about our skin time together. Yes, those xoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxo count.