Make New Friends, But Keep the Old.....

Mira here. As we continue the looong process of unpacking and "getting settled" (who knows what that really means?) in this new place, Goose and I are increasingly thankful for the new and not-so-new friendships we have here in the city.

Last Saturday, we made our way to the north side for "The Party Also Rises," Matt and Cindy's gathering of couples in honor of Ernest Hemingway's birthday. We ate fabulous tapas and got to know some new people. It was also so great to seem some folks from Holy Covenant.

We left a bit early to stop by Mark and Julie's, our new neighbors that we met through Kristin and Amy, two different (unrelated) friends of ours. Mark and Julie live less than a block away from us, and their gathering to celebrate Mark's birthday spilled out onto the sidewalk in front of their building. We knew that Mark knew a lot of people, but this fact was reinforced when I saw some folks sporting t-shirts that had been printed for Mark's last birthday party. On the front it said in huge letters "RUA FOM?" I was confused until I read the fine print: "(friend of Mark)." On the back: "isn't everybody?"

On Monday evening, Goose, Mark and I took the Pink Line to Millenium Park for a samba concert and picnic. Mark's friend, Greg, joined us, and two other pairs of people Mark knows came up to say hello while we were there.


It really is the best place ever for a concert:


On our way to the concert, we stopped at another friend of Mark's (just a block in the other direction from our new house), and met two more neighbors of ours, Megan and Jon. Megan is a Mennonite pastor and I look forward to connecting with her again.

After the concert, we headed up to Belmont to visit with Joseph at the L & L Tavern, a classic from Goose's "Chicago's Best Dive Bars" book, a lovely gift from brother Scott Boy.

Yesterday evening, Goose and I met up with a small group of Holy Covenant-related folks at St. James Cathedral near downtown to walk their outdoor labyrinth. They labyrinth is an ancient tool for meditation and prayer. To read more, go here. To see what the kind of labyrinth we walked looks like, go here. If you've never experienced one, I encourage you to check out where there is one in your area. It was a much-needed time of prayer, and afterward we had a great time talking with folks at Rock Bottom, a brewery/pub down the street.

I am so thankful to God that we don't walk this life journey alone.