Just A Little Fruit

I have come to expect that most ideas for my blog posts come when I'm at the sink washing dishes. Today's post is no exception. This morning I caught myself smiling through my thoughts as I cleaned up last year's party dishes. New Year's Eve has brought the 2nd annual friend NYE Party/sleep over. My 13 year old and her 4 very BFFs spend the evening eating monkey munch, giving out their Christmas presents, and generally take over the house for the night. These girls are so nice they include dd's younger siblings, patiently listening to the little kids' silly jokes and stories and basically allowing them to be part of the merriment. I am fascinated by these young ladies, ages 13-14...(with a new 15 as the defacto leader of the group). They all come from homeschooling families, one is an only child, 2 are the youngest of brothers and 2 are the oldest of many. It's a great combination of personalities and as I get to know them better I become an auxiliary member of their exclusive club. At the sink I was thinking about how lucky I am to be watching these ladies get older. Last year there was no talk of music, singers, and other friends and this year they watched "Sleepless in Seattle", discussing why the 2 main characters didn't kiss in the end. They are growing up. I'm glad that we are a family that spends time together because the fruit of that is knowing my childrens' friends and being invited into their experiences. So far we don't have a generation gap and I believe homeschooling for 7 years (officially) is the cause of that effect. Just a little fruit of our labor....so far.