I’ve been friends with Pat and Brenda for almost 15 years. During that 15 years I have watched their children grow up from 4 year old terrors to adults with responsibilities that they take seriously. It has been a pleasure to watch.

For the last few years the Pat and Brenda have been looking forward to the day when their children would be away from the house and they would effectively be free. I must admit that I too was looking forward to the day when we would be able to have more freedom to do what we wanted to without worrying about the kids at home.

So it came as a little bit of a shock when I came to Chippewa Falls this week and found out they were very excited about a foreign exchange student coming to their home in the next few weeks.

I really shouldn’t be surprised. They have such big hearts and so much to share with someone from another country. They’ve always given to others.

For the next school year a young lady from Thailand will be living at my friends house and perhaps even coming to Washington DC in October for a brief visit. I hope she comes to love my friends as much as I love them, and I hope they come to learn a lot about other cultures.