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Fruit Of Friendship

We spent this evening in the company of the K. family, from the Netherlands. M. and his wife are old friends of mine. We first met when he was 16 and I was 15. He was a high school friend of my pen pal in his Dutch high school. He was in America visiting an […]

We spent this evening in the company of the K. family, from the Netherlands. M. and his wife are old friends of mine. We first met when he was 16 and I was 15. He was a high school friend of my pen pal in his Dutch high school. He was in America visiting an aunt, and came to visit me virtually out of the blue. We have been friends ever since. I’ve stayed with him and his family on several occasions.

Now we are middle-aged, with children of our own. Tonight was the first time I had met M.’s children. His kids and mine got on perfectly — a gift, in part, of their English language skills, but also the power of Minecraft to bring kids together.

It was so, so good to spend time with the family K., and after they left, my son Lucas was bouncing around the house, saying he couldn’t wait for M.’s son to visit us in Louisiana. He was the same way about the children of our friends the D. family, a Franco-Dutch couple, whose friendship with me has the same root.

I have to say I get really emotional about all this. My family’s trip to France has occasioned not only the renewal of my friendship (and by extension, Julie’s friendship) with these wonderful French and Dutch people, but has also laid the groundwork for the second generation of friendship, between our children. It is an incredible blessing. I couldn’t have foreseen this when I wrote off at the age of 15 or so for a pen pal from the Netherlands. And now look. It’s easier than ever for these kids to be friends. Tonight before they left for their hotel, the K. kids exchanged gaming friendship with my kids (meaning they friended each other on game servers).

I love it. I really do. Man, this is great.

 

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