A SPECIAL AFTERNOON

         Friday was a very special day. Twice before I’ve had a single person come visit and we’ve kept our distance on the deck. On Friday, my two bestest friends came to visit. We each separately ordered and paid for food from Briley’s BBQ. Claudia picked it up on her way here.

          After Friday morning’s walk, I picked up the house a bit, sanitized some areas (bathroom) and then moved to the deck. Earlier this week, I had cleaned the deck, so it looked terrific. Only the table looked horrible. It was covered with pollen and dust. I sprayed and cleaned and sprayed and cleaned until it sparkled…well, not exactly since I couldn’t clean the underside of the glass, but it was clean on top.

          All by myself, I moved the table to where I wanted it on the deck. Then I moved the really heavy umbrella stand beneath. Finally, I took the umbrella out of its cover and managed to slot it into the hole without breaking the glass. Sometimes I amaze myself.

          Then, I placed three chairs around the table at a distance from each other. The one on the end would be for Maryanne since she loves to be in the sun. I have to be in the shade, and Claudia’s shaved her head, so she needed shade as well. At various times both Claudia and I moved, keeping our distance, to stay out of direct sunlight.

          Our lunches were delicious. I think we all had pork in some form. I had collard greens and they had French fries. Claudia had her single beer, Maryanne brought ice tea and had a refill out of my fridge. I had an iced coffee and water.

          Even better than the food though, was the company. To be able to sit together after such a long time talking about this and that, contemplate solving the world’s problems, bringing each other up to date on our family members, remembering previous times and other folks we know and sharing laughter. It felt so good and so right.

          Being able to do this Friday was, at least for me, like getting a shot of happiness. I’ve missed those women. Sure, we’ve talked, texted and emailed, but there’s nothing like being able to see each other’s faces, watch our mouths widen in smiles, and open with laughter.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to do this again…and maybe expand our group to include more women whom I miss as well.