I had dinner with two dear friends last night. May not sound like much to blog about at first, but you have to understand I don’t get out much. My sweet husband’s idea of taking me out is having dinner on our back deck. If he really wants to make it romantic, he’ll make sure Duke’s water bowl is full so we can dine with the sound of “lapping waves”. But my man and the Duke are at the family Ranch this weekend. There is much man-stuff to do, you know – tractor repair, target practice, framing and wiring for the remodel of the old house, wild hog hunting at night, but no duck hunting because the season is over. And plenty of good food too, my husband and his brother are both fabulous cooks. But that’s another blog.
Back to my dinner with friends. It had been an intense day at work for me, with a little more than the usual stress, so I was really ready to sit down in a nice atmosphere with people I enjoy and have someone wait on me. We chose a nice upscale (that’s just a fancy word for pricey) restaurant near work; I was there and seated by 6. Thankfully our drinks and appetizers just made it in under their ‘half-price apps ‘til 6’ – good food always tastes so much better when it’s ½ price. And yes, the entrees were excellent as well, but the best thing about the meal was the company. You can go to a nice restaurant any time – well, you can if you are blessed with a job and room in your budget for eating out. But in this crazy-busy world we live in finding a night that meets everyone’s schedule to have dinner with friends is not something to take for granted.
These two are particularly special to me. They were both part of my church family during some extremely hard years while my kids were growing up. One was my daughter’s youth leader at church for a number of years; not only was that youth group an important stable part of her life back then, but it was at a youth retreat that she accepted Christ as a teenager, so I am particularly fond of her for helping to channel my daughter into God’s plan. As it happened the other friend was more of an influence in my son’s life; their temperaments are quite suited to one another. His teen years were tumultuous, but the steady exposure to quality people like these two who really cared about him was a huge factor in him turning into a fairly well-grounded young man. He learned early on that God’s Plan A is other people.
I’ve shared women’s retreats, worked on retreat teams, sang in the choir and had some excellent laughs over the years with these friends. It’s a part of my past I wouldn’t trade for anything. What makes it all the more special is that now we are still good friends – better friends, in fact, than before. And when we share a meal we can talk about the present but we can also easily talk about the past because they know my history, and I know some of theirs. It’s a bond you can’t buy or fashion in a few weeks or pretend like you have when you don’t.
Great Meal – just a tad over-priced. Great Friends – priceless.
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