Traveling Friends

Last weekend started the beginning of two months of us either traveling to see friends and family, or friends and family traveling to see us.
I love traveling, but for people to have us as guests, they have to be willing to be a bit cramped. It’s a lot to ask to put up 6 people. This means that the people we visit have to really want us to come, and we have to really want to be there.
It’s interesting as I think of the folks we have ventured forth to visit. Most of them we see maybe once a year, or sometimes once every 5-10 years. Others, we are privileged to get to see on a more regular basis.
This leads me to contemplate the relationships I have maintained. I truly believe the people in my life are there for a reason….we serve some purpose for each other. The ones we are drawn to, the ones we make extraordinary efforts to see, no matter how infrequently or the distance between us, defy logic, at least to me.
Sometimes, the reasons why I need these people in my life, or they need me in theirs, are not clear. Sometimes, years into the relationship, I discover why this person was meant to be a part of my world. Sometimes, it’s clear from the very beginning.
I am so looking forward to the time I get to spend with some of these special people in the next few months. I am grateful they put up with my whole clan, as well as all of my little idiosyncrasies.