Ohio North to I 80 West

...and forty hours later I would be there!

God has blessed me with a dear friend whose face I have not seen "live" in 34 years.  We left our respective high schools and ended up at a small Christian college in central Ohio.  Going separate ways after college, we reconnected on Facebook 30-some years later.

Beth lives in Eugene, Oregon.  I'm in Akron, Ohio.  I could hop in my Honda go a few miles north and get on the Ohio turnpike (I-80) and head west.  With my Eas-Z Pass in check, I would not need change for tolls.  And 40 hours later..I could squeeze her face, embrace her, share smiles and cuppas.

A dream that warms my heart...but for now, I must savor her spirit from afar.

Beth is a kindred spirit.  Beth and I are both social workers by training...and embrace that profession.  We both love reading, books, thoughts, and ideas.  We are both very spiritual people with a love for our Creator.  We both crave nature, silence, and solitude...as well as journaling and cuppas of coffee or tea with a dear friend or alone.  We are both comfortable in our own skin in our mid-50s after doing a lot of personal work and allowing God to mold us into the person He intended us to be, which sometimes means taking roads less traveled.

She has the practice of gratitude down to a science!  Who would doubt that the closest person to her is named Joy?????!!!!  And her letters and posts always make me smile and feel refreshed.  There's so much of each us to experience and share with each other which is challenging at a distance...which can only be fully appreciated face to face.  But for now I treasure the dear heart and friend she is to me.  (Stills include some items she sent me in a birthday care package including a homemade card she made, an issue of Kinfolk, a handwritten letter, plus some other treats.  Texture used on all images:  Kim Klassen's waterfront23 for Texture Tuesday.)

By the way, because of Beth living where she lives, rooted for the Seahawks in the Super Bowl!  Must've been why they won!  She roots for my Mountaineers...and I root for her Ducks!