born. They ended up with three daughters when all was said and done, and we with four, all of us around the same ages. So I've know this family from the womb. Our families both got transferred to St. Louis, MO with our dads' jobs, stayed there a couple of years; then Al found a job back in NJ, hired my dad, and we all moved back to the east coast together. It's only been since my parents moved to MN in '96 that we have not lived in the same vacinity as the Furlers. We have grown up with them, quite literally, spending almost as much time at their house than our own. Sue (mom Furler) was always our emergency contact, and the mom
that picked me up from school and let me stay on the couch when I sprained my ankle. She was the mom that let us play with play-dough whenever we wanted, in fact we should take it home with us to our house (so that she would never have to deal with it again, giving my mom the duty to tell us no to messy creativity). Sue has always made the best cinnamin toast, always sent me into the store on the way home from school to grab her a snickers, and taught me that less is more when it comes to make-up.
And then there are the sisters. Laura, the oldest of the McGurfers (smoosh McGrail and Furler together=McGurfer), was our mom figure; she rode me around when I was too small to reach the petals on a bike on the back of their tandem so that I could play bike tag with the big kids, she was brave enough to play Miss Hannigen when we played Annie in our basement, and hers was the first wedding I ever participated in; she trusted Kate and I to sing at the time in life when I was so terrified to be in front of people that I burst into tears at the mere thought of it.
Sarah is closest to me in age, three years older than I, and we've been friends longer than I can remember. She and I slept over together in her daybed several days in a row, played King's Quest to all hours of the night and into the morning,
she even forgave me when I crushed on of her favorite china animals when we were playing leggos. And she was the only bridesmaid in my wedding not blood-related to either Mike or I. Sarah and I don't talk or communicate regularly, even often, but I've decided we have the best kind of friendship I could ever ask for; we never feel bad if we haven't talked or spent time recently, we merely pick up where we left off. Sarah and I have so much history that we always have plenty to reminisce about, but we are involved enough now in each other's lives to continue caring and loving each other where we are at.
And then there's Em. She's a little younger than Kate, and she and Kate have always
been close, but it's been amazing how as we "grow up," we grow closer. Age matters less and less. Now Em is my other little sister, she's the one that I sit at the breakfast table with now and talk about anything and everything, things past, things present. Em has always amazed me with her unrelenting and unwaivering faith; she has trusted Jesus like few others I have ever encountered, and she lets everyone know it. I want to be a bit more like Em when it comes to sharing my faith.Last summer, Em married Logan in Cape May, NJ. As all the McGurfers gathered, I was struck by the notion that we were running out of weddings; we needed to find another reason to get together. In typical Meg-fashion, I blurted this out, saying that I would plan something... Yeah, and I really followed thru on that. Fortunately, Sue and Al know me better than I know myself, and they graciously included us in their family trip. So Mom, Dad, and I joined Sue and Al, Laura and Corbette, Sarah and Kyle, Em and Logan, and Aunt Lynn, Uncle Bob, and cousins Ben and Ethan in Durango, CO. We McGrails were only able to stay a few days (Mom and Dad had to transport me back to MN so I could fly back to Belize today), so we were extremely sad to say goodbye so quickly, but so grateful for the time to spend with our extended family.
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