Lunch with Maria

 

Maria and I have known each other for decades.  And it's always a pleasure when I can get together with her.  I met her when working for the bank almost 40 years ago, and have seen her through a messy divorce, being widowed, and now with a new partner.  I'm very happy for her, yet she has problems at home that gets in the way of her living her own life.  And I wish that those problems would go away, so that she could live the life she deserves.

As usual, we met at our "go to" restaurant in Cold Spring.  Both of us were early for a change.  And, just before 1 pm, we entered the restaurant to eat.  I mentioned my upcoming cruise, and how I wanted to give RQS the gift that I intended to give her once the family homestead was sold.  Maria talked about her issues with her older daughter, and of both daughters having the same due date.  Of course, she talked about her beau, and I asked:

"Did he ask you the question yet?"

"What question?"

"What's for dinner?"  😀

She knew I was setting her up with the first question.  We get along that well.  We also talked about how males and females are socialized very differently in our society, and that I'd have rather been born with the "Correct Plumbing" and all of its problems to have had the social bonding that many women experience that men never experience. I mentioned that we had to be sisters in a prior life, and she understood what I meant.  Maria and I get along much better than she does with her own sisters, and she appreciates me for who and what I am.  All too quickly, lunch had to end, and we vowed to get together again sooner instead of later.

Once I got back home, it was time for a nap before zooming with our Texas friends.  When I awoke, I took care of several things before opening up the zoom meeting.  It was nice to chat with the girls, as one had something important happen at her office that allowed her to contribute to the conversation.  And yet, RQS and I ended the zoom earlier than usual - we were both tired, and wanted to relax before our nightly call.