A visit from the city

Blogging is such a great way to meet people. You get to know a person through their posts and comments and sometimes e-mails, and you learn things about them that they might not share if you were just to meet them on the street. We have met a number of friends through blogging who have become very good friends and whom we visit regularly or who visit us regularly. I can't begin to link and name them all here, for fear I'd leave someone out. Suffice it to say that we have met more than twenty people in our blogging circles, some as far away as Wyoming, and some as close as the city.

I have to give credit where credit is due: Jess is usually the one to orchestrate the meet-ups with other bloggers, he being the extrovert, me being the introvert. We'd have a lot fewer friends if it weren't for his work in developing friendships.

I am hoping that Patrick will be one of those people who becomes a close friend. We met him through the charming and deeply introspective Nicky, with whom we have struck up a long- distance friendship. Nicky hasn't visited us yet, but we're hoping that he will be able to visit someday. If you haven't read his blog, you really should. To endure the things he's been through and still be the wonderful, thoughtful soul that he is says a lot.

At any rate, Patrick came to visit us for the first time this past Monday afternoon, and it was a wonderful time. I won't go into too much detail about the visit, because I would rather you read his post describing it. It's so detailed that it's a nearly play-by-play run of the entire visit!

I will say that we had a wonderful time, and found Patrick to be the same delightful person that he is in his posts and comments: just a joy to visit with, and truly gracious.

One thing that I found particularly interesting about Patrick is that he comes from a Quaker background. It's uncommon to find Quakers; they tend to come from specific areas of the country. I know this because Wichita has a Quaker University, Friends University, and I received my associate's degree there (even though I am not Quaker) so I know about the Quaker faith (as well as the oatmeal). Patrick had actually visited Friends University years ago, so we had a fun point of common interest besides the more obvious commonalities.

At any rate, the company and conversation was wonderful, and we hope to repeat the experience again soon! And speaking of blogger visits, at some point, I have to get Anita and Sarah out here to spend a day in the kitchen!