carpinteria

 on monday we went up to carpinteria for what was supposed to be a quick stop along with a quick hello to our friend clare.  but when said friend clare is one of your favorite friends it is hard to make a quick hello and then goodbye when you know you won't see each other again for six months.  we stopped by her store and ended up talking as friends always do and then some more when her cousin molly came into the shop to work that day.  that led us to step out for tea with clare and by the time we were back and talked some more it was time for clare to head home to stella.  well we just had to accompany her home to see sweet baby stella, who will be 2 next month, take a leisurely walk around the marsh behind her home and stop to sit in some brightly painted adirondack chairs.  i didn't have my camera but clare had hers and michael snapped a few photos of us for which i am grateful to make this post with.  we have less than a week and i have had a bit of a firework finale of friend meetups in the last few days.  i have enjoyed seeing my friends so much during our last month and a half here.  their presence in my life after having been gone for two years makes me feel loved and not forgotten.  it is good to know they will always be my friends and i think it will be hard not to try and position ourselves near them once again if we ever have control over where we will one day reside.  for now, it's onward and upward as we continue on the medical school journey michael is taking us on.  new friends await and most of all new experiences that will shape who we are.