Summer is best served with friends

We just spent the Fourth of July with some old friends up here in our part of Montana. We barbecued, boated every day, watched fireworks, visited mutual new friends and played gin rummy.

I'm sunburned and exhausted but there is something about old friends that made the holiday even more special this year.

We've known that couple since my husband and I first got together. They were there when times were lean. They fed us, they sympathized, they made us laugh. Now they come to our home a couple of times a year where we can offer them that kind of comfort and catch up.

It's wonderful to have friends that remember back when. They feel like family.

I think as I get older, I become more appreciative of those old friendships. Sometimes we don't want our friends to remember everything we did when we were young and foolish. But that mutual history is awfully nice sometimes too.

And I learned to play gin rummy. Now I'm wondering why I never learned to play it before. What a fun game.

It's nice to know that I'm never too old to learn something new, especially with old friends.

Hope you all had a great 4th!