Good Friends, Good Memories, Good Bagels

This morning, Grady and I met a dear old friend, Kourtnee, and her sister (also a friend!), Tawnee at Bagelheads (SO GOOD!) for breakfast. I have known Kourtnee since high school. We graduated together 8 years ago and kept in touch for several years after that, but then she moved away to Salt Lake City, Utah about 3 years ago. So I had not seen her in three years and only talked to her a few times via email. It's funny (but sad) how people move, get married, have kids, etc, and we drift apart. It's like life goes on and is so hectic that we lose touch with important people. So anyway, she came back home for a week or so to help a friend (also from HS) who just had twin boys. I found out through Facebook (gotta love those social networking sites!) that she was visiting, so we arranged to get together. You don't realize how much you miss a person until you see them and share stories, memories,and update each other on your lives. She has two kids, Kaylee (8) and Hudson (4). I was lucky enough to see Kaylee frequently when she was a little baby, but Hudson I have only met once. She did get to meet Grady who hammed it up by squealing, smiling, bouncing, and banging his toys on the table. Have I ever mentioned how high maintenance he is?? :)

She was telling me some interesting things about Salt Lake City... as you know, it's predominatly Mormon, so a Christian church is few and far between. They have found a small Baptist church, but she said that being a Christian living in SLC makes you feel very isolated. In Kaylee's class of 26, she said there are only a couple non-Mormon children. Even though it's a public school, the students can elect to go to Mormon seminary during part of the school day. Now, can you IMAGINE what would happen if we tried to do that with a baptist seminary???? People would be infuriated! It's unfortunate. She said while the Mormon residents are kind to her, they haven't really befriended her because she is not Mormon.

She also said that the drinking laws are very strict and quite different from FL. In order to get a drink at a restaraunt, you have to order food first. You cannot order just a drink. Also, when you order a drink, the bartenders do not freely poor the alcohol into the glass. It is dispensed through a bottle that has some sort of a lock and only allows a certain pre-measured amount to be dispensed. Does that make sense? (It sounded less confusing when she described it!).

Kourtnee did say that it is beautiful there... not the same as FL, obviously, but there are beautiful mountains there and she said SLC is a VERY clean place to live. She misses home, but is thankful for the opportunity to see the country's beauty.

I vow to keep in touch with my sweet friend from now on!!! I won't let another few years go by. It was so refreshing to see her... so if any of you have been so busy with the day to day and have missed a friend from the past, I encourage you to give him/her a call. Chances are they are missing you, too!

Me, Grady, and Kourtnee


Me, Grady, and Tawnee