Glimmer #17: A Multi-layer Glimmer

Well, it has been quite a few days since I last recorded a glimmer. That isn’t because life has been difficult, it’s because I haven’t had ten quiet minutes to write.

We have had a whirlwind three day visit from two of our dearest friends, people we have not seen in four years. Katja and Jorg live in Berlin, so we don’t see each other often. They had come to New York with several friends for a birthday celebration, and decided that while they were in “the neighborhood” they would come to spend a few days with us.

I could describe to you how joyful we were to see each other again, especially after a fairly harrowing flight adventure on their arrival journey. Or how much fun we had talking, laughing, eating and drinking and reminiscing about past visits.

But the truly special and affirming part of this was the story of how we all met. It was one of those experiences that can really convince a person that there is magic in the universe.

It all started back in 2015. We were with some friends in town when they got a phone call. A young teenaged boy from Germany had been placed in our town as part of a foreign exchange program. His placement had been problematic, and he was in desperate need of a new local family with whom he could live for the next few months.