A Grown-up Luncheon

Lunch with like-minded women is such a treat! What better way to welcome a neighbor’s mother who has come to town for an extended visit.

Another neighbor invited 6 of us to a most elegant lunch today. Only two of us are still without grandchildren. We’ve all lived in this neighborhood for decades, although one person has now moved away and is only drawn back by a new grandchild and many old friends.

The table was set with the elegance of fine china, silver, and crystal. The meal was tasty but low-cal, preparing all of us for the caloric onset of Thanksgiving. A tasty chicken salad over mixed greens was served with pita. Sorbet with fresh berries rounded out the meal. And there was a choice of wines or cider.

It’s so much fun to drink at lunch time, when you aren’t already tired. But the real fun was catching up on busy retired lives that are going in many different directions. I learned things about these women that I had never known as we sat at swim meets together and walked in the neighborhood 4th of July parades.

A year ago I would have had to pass up this invitation because I was still working. It’s such a different life to be able to enjoy an elegant lunch with friends and not have to think of getting back to work.

And now Kris’s mother Audrey has been reminded about what a great community her daughter lives in. I suppose that’s why most of us have been here for 30 years and have no plans to leave.