Women Friends

We were gathered at a couple's party.... celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on Sunday, when one of the gals at our table mentioned that the next day was going to be her birthday. We are all friends...the four of us. When one has a birthday...sometimes we get together and celebrate. Nothing elaborate...just a get together to celebrate the day. She loves Chinese food, so we met at noon, at our local Chinese restaurant. We are all about the same age....the youngest 72 and the oldest 78. We four have had our share of life's problems...deaths of spouses, illness, and now our aches and pains.Our conversation touches on taking care of our friends who are ailing. People we are praying for.....but that isn't the gist of our conversation. The gist of the conversation is happiness. We are buzzing with excitement...although we had just seen each other the day before. We might talk about clothes, exercise, books, movies, and especially food. We exchange recipes....good books to read.....good movies to watch and so many other fun topics. We ate our lunch and gave our friend little simple gifts and cards. Then we were invited to the anniversary gal's house, to have some cheesecake. She and her husband had hosted, along with their children, a big party with many guests on Sunday. So big that they had to have a tent in the yard. I was surprised that she came... let alone inviting us back to her house for dessert. It was delicious cheesecake....white chocolate with raspberry...or lemon. I picked the raspberry :) We sat in her comfortable sun room...admiring her plants... which were blooming profusely...she says she doesn't have a green thumb ??? More talk....I swear we could talk all day. It was time to leave and we said our goodbyes.On the way out, plans were being talked about for our next get together. Hugs for special friends.

I don't know what it is about women and their friends. It is such a treat to get together with friends...old ones and new. When you find new friends in your 70's, you realize how very special that is. Gone are the days of cherishing material possessions...we know what is important. Older people are more situated in their lives..we move around less frequently. We value our connections to people not things. After an afternoon like this...we might say, "It was really nice being together like this,"  and mean it. We realize that time is more precious to us, because we know that the end of the road is near. We keep an eye on each other and know when one of us needs help. I'm so glad that I have friends like these. We are social creatures and there is a need to relate to people. I think that it might even help us be more healthy. ( Speaking of more healthy...I was going to cancel out, because arthritis was bad during the night and I didn't get a good night's sleep. I pushed myself to go and got to feeling better as soon as I met them. I'm so glad that I went.) As we were walking to the car, one of the gals said, "Don't you love to go home after an afternoon like this?" Getting away for a couple of hours makes us appreciate our lives at home more.I'm married to Joe, and he and I spend a lot of hours together. I too love to come home after an outing with friends. He and I share my day...just like we do when he goes with his friends.  Someone to talk to and laugh with is worth everything to me.
Balisha