thankfulness...

I have a friend who has an adult daughter who is a bit older than my 'girls', who are amazingly capable, smart, busy, responsible adults. This girl, who we will call 'Z', is really smart, and teaches on the high school level. She is working this summer in a 'camp' type environment for gifted high-schoolers, sort of an immersion experience where they go for several weeks to practice their skills, learn, advance, enjoy meeting other people with whom they have giftedness in common in a number of disciplines. Like art, music, dance, math, science, language arts.'

My friend called her daughter to ask if she could come and spend the afternoon with her at the 'camp', and 'Z' was welcoming, said she would enjoy having her come to visit for a few hours. The thing is: my friend never knows how 'Z' will respond to her - invitations to come to visit here in Columbus, or in the daughter's home some distance away. She could easily be rebuffed,with 'Z' saying she did not want her to come, or she didn't want to see her. Or she could be welcomed with open arms, asked to come and bring her needle and thread to help with a project, or invited to come for lunch, or to spend the night... she just never knows what the response will be.

Which leads me to thankfulness. For believing that I will always be welcome. And the door will always be opened, and they will always want to see me. Even when I 'invite' myself, which I have gotten really good at doing, with remarkable frequency.