Good Friends are Hard to Find

It's true, good friends are hard to find. And even harder to find in pairs--where both you and your husband like both him and her. But every once in a while they come along and they are KEEPERS.

Such a couple are Kati and Joe Buck. It's kind of funny how we became friends with them. It started when we moved into our current ward and spent the next two years completely friendless and unnoticed. Then eventually we became good friends with my visiting teacher and her husband, Tonia and Doug. They were another rare couple where we both liked both of them. But sadly, a year or two later, Tonia and Doug moved to Boise. Once they left, we started to get to know the default Atwoods-- Doug's younger brother, Joe Buck, and his new wife Kati who were living at the Doug and Joe Buck's parents' house. Although it may have been by default at first, we quickly realized how fun, smart, and awesome they were. Then THEY had to go and move out of the ward. But at least they only moved to Pleasant Gdrove, not 10 minutes away. And we've managed to stay in touch and keep up the frienship.

So, now you're up to date on who they are. Let me tell you why Kati and Joe are such great friends. The other day they invited us over for dinner because Kati was going to make us homemade Chicken Tikka Masala, a dish we all love to eat when we go to the Bombay House together. We were so excited. But that morning, my kids came down with a wicked virus. They had fevers, were running snot a mile a minute, and were seriously grouchy. As the day wore on and dinner approached, I worried about bringing them with us and infecting everyone else's kids (another couple, Chaz and Erin, and their daughter were going to be there too--we miraculously found TWO couples in our ward that we liked both of...but of course, they moved. Losers. At least it's only to Orem. Do we smell or something? As soon as we make friends, they move. Anyway...) About 3pm I decided to get a babysitter rather than take the kids. And I started making the roti to bring along for the Indian food. But the kids were not in the mood to let me make flat bread. And the flat bread was not in the mood to be made. It was sticking to the rolling pin, the counter, and the wax paper. It was not staying soft when I cooked it. And eventually I got so mad a threw a ball of it at the kitchen wall. I had to stop and figure out what was making me so upset. Was is the bread alone? Or was it the snotty, crying child hanging off my left leg? Or the other snotty, whining child throwing all my kitchen utensils on the floor at my feet? Or was it that my husband hadn't left work yet and we were supposed to be at dinner in 10 minutes? No, I realized, it was the throbbing head and achy muscles I was starting to notice. Crap. Was I getting sick too? Yes. I was. That meant dinner was out. But I was in charge of his stupid uncooperative roti. So what to do?

(this is roti)


THIS IS WHERE THIS WHOLE LONG STORY COMES TO THE POINT FINALLY....Kati and Joe, being the saints that they are, took the news that we were cancelling on them at the very last minute very well. So well, in fact, that they sent Joe Buck over to our house with a bowl of Chicken Tikka Masala and a bowl of rice and picked up the roti all so we wouldn't have to drive it over. And so I wouldn't have to worry about making dinner on top of everything else. Is that not the sweetest thing you've ever heard? In thanks for us ruining their dinner party, they brought dinner to us. I love those guys. Good friends are so rare in this world. Good people, kind people, generous people who go out of their way to help others are so incredibly rare that I couldn't help but devote an entire post to thanking Kati and Joe.

Oh, and Kati? the Chicken Tikka Masala was delicious. (And I hope you didn't taste the dirt in that one piece of roti).