Home Team

I'm missing my home team tonight. 

“Everybody has a home team: It’s the people you call when you get a flat tire or when something terrible happens. It’s the people who, near or far, know everything that’s wrong with you and love you anyways. These are the ones who tell you their secrets, who get themselves a glass of water without asking when they’re at your house. These are the people who cry when you cry. These are your people, your middle-of-the-night, no-matter-what people.” - Shauna Niequist 

Just like how Rome wasn't built in a day, home teams weren't born over night. 

After 15 months in Houston, we still don't have a home team here.  We are slowly building friendships here; in the past few weeks we've had a play date, hosted lunch at our house and met up with friends at the pool.  We think we're going to invite a family over to help celebrate Gabe's birthday next weekend so we're getting there.  Slowly. 

But when I think back most of my friendships; the good, solid friendships didn't develop over night.  They grew slowly - time was needed to learn about one and see how our lives would fit together.  Some of my greatest friendships could have easily fallen to the wayside.  Natalie and I were best friends growing up but different peer groups and schools took us on different paths.  It wasn't until after college that we fell back in sync and now have sons born 5 months apart who's friendship is a give-in.  While Sondra was a guest at my wedding it wasn't until we were both going through some painful stuff and our worlds collided that our friendship blossomed.  If Anna hadn't come with her husband to poker night at our house, we never would have found a million common bonds.  Megan and I thought we weren't liked by the other one until she joined my team at work as I prepared to welcome Gabriel home and once I left work our friendship blossomed in ways I never imagined.  My life group girls were just life group girls until we actually started doing through life together and not just meeting on Friday nights. 

All of those friendships took time.  I know my friendships here in Houston need to take time as well.  Sometimes it's just hard.  When Matt's out of town for work I worry who will I call if my car breaks down or Gabe has an emergency.  I worry who will help us when we're cocooning with our newest little one and we run out of milk or who would watch Gabe if Matt or I had a medical emergency.  And sometimes when waiting for our newest little one gets too difficult I'd love to call up a friend to meet at Starbucks.  Or Sonic happy hour. 

So right now I'm missing my home team.  My family.  My friends.  My sisters that biology didn't give me but God saw I needed. 

And perhaps, just perhaps I'm missing my home team a little bit more because we are making friends here... we may be making a second home team here in Houston.  And that's a little scary.  But having a middle-of-the-night-no-matter-what team down here wouldn't be a bad thing.