Crystal's Great Loves

When I find the minutes, I will post all about our family Vacation 08. But, I can't wait to share about the love I saw over the week. That love came from Crystal's friends, Sarah and Mary. We told Crystal that she could bring along a friend with us on our vacation. I asked her to choose between 3 friends, friends I know and trust. Mary couldn't go because her parents foster a very strict, Vietnamese culture. But, Sarah's parents, who are French and Hispanic, allowed her to join us after Sammy and I went through a 2 hour "let's chat causally interview".

I knew Sarah from various visits at the house, but you know that when you go on vacation with someone, you reallllly get to know them! Fortunately, after 7 days with Sarah and Crystal's antics and funness, Sammy and I fell in love with her and declared her our official new babysitter when Crystal retires here and moves to Austin. Sarah was easy-going, appreciative, funny, kind, polite and she was sincerely loving toward Isabela. Plus, she sings in a garage band so her voice was instrumental in the long drives across Texas. But, I think what struck me the most about her was the love extended to Crystal through her hugs, her compliments, her thoughtfulness and when she listened to Crystal speak, Sarah gleamed! Boy, that rocked my world.

Then there's Mary, the friend who was not allowed to go. We met up with her and her family in San Antonio's Riverwalk. Mary texted and texted in order to arrange a playdate among the three of them. She was desperate to hang with them and be part of the fun. The catch was that I needed to meet her father. So, Sammy and I gave up our "date night" to make that interview happen, at almost 11 pm. Thankfully, we passed the test and the girls got to spend that evening together and then the next...on the RiverWalk. Mary so loves Crystal, too. You can hear it in her excitement. Oh, yeah, she adores Isabela and she is also declared as a babysitter option.

What a special love that comes from friendships. I say "special" because it's the kind that I marvel at when I see it in full force. It's not like loving your family, your kids, your niece, etc. Loving your family comes easy or at least, to most people. It's not like that with relationships you self-select. It takes work, it takes time, and it's a big guessing game when trying to nurture it just the right way it needs to be and you always know that it's a gamble because that person can voluntarily leave your life at any moment. Because I have very little family and I have no sibling/friend relationships with my two sisters, I really count on those women whom I call "friends". I count on them to love me, I count on myself to make them feel so loved and appreciated by me.

It's important for me to see my girls respect their friendships. I surround them with our friendships so that they can see the blessings that come with it. What a beautiful gift from God.

I have to say, seeing that love from Mary and Sarah toward my girls was the BEST souvenir from our Family Vacation 08!

The Pic shows what May wrote last night on our back patio floor when she came looking for Crystal and nobody was home. "

Mary Chou loves Crystal"