Sometimes you just can't help yourself. Sometimes the sheer proximity of the tables just beg for a good eavesdropping session. There is a little restaurant in town called Gilles that has a few tables with simply a beam separating the two. I mean, you're practically rubbing elbows with the person at the other table so it's a little bit like sitting at one big Thanksgiving meal and you may as well just turn to them and ask them to please pass the potatoes. (or in Gillies case, the tofu)
One morning my daughter and I were there and sat at one of these tables. Two cute college boys were on the other side..or literally at our table, which ever way you want to look at it. Your choices are to pretend they are invisible, or just go ahead and say hello and ask who's turn is it to take the check:) So, I say hello, and comment on how delicious his Banana Walnut French toast looks. He calls the server over and asks for another plate and cuts of a corner of it and hands it to me. I'm glad I didn't decide to go with the invisible option because as my daughter was dying of embarrassment, I was licking whipped cream off my fingers.......
But, onto todays eavesdropping adventure. Oh, I had the best seat in the house! The table behind me was a lovely young mother with her daughter who was probably about ten. They must have had an appointment and were stopping to have lunch before she took her back to school. The mother was asking insightful questions and every chance she could get she would say something incredibly supportive and positive. "Oh, you will be good at that!" "It's just new to you, you will get the hang of it in time, you learn quickly." "I love being able to spend time with you." Her daughter was eating her sandwich, but, her mother was feeding her soul. Planting seeds to grow a confident, secure young lady. Sweet words, even to my listening ears...
"A mother's treasure is her daughter."~ Catherine Pulsifer
Oh, but then there was the table across from me. Four older women who were letting their grandma-ness shine. These women didn't care about keeping color in their hair, they obviously didn't care about their figures or the latest fashion. No sign of compensatory dressing at that table. I mean, their necks were showing! They were having a great time! And, then the gifts came out. It was a grandma's shower. One woman had several grandchildren who were well into their teenage years, and then came a surprise baby! This grandmother didn't have any diapers or bibs or baby toys left at her house, so her friends showered her with these items. I love these women. I can't stand it any longer. I'm feeling brave and plucky, so on my pretend trip to the bathroom, I stop and talk to them and tell them how much I have enjoyed watching them. I just wanted to pull up a chair and join this hen party! One said "Can you tell we have been friends for a long time?" Oh, yes I could tell.
"Constant use had not worn ragged the fabric of their friendship." ~Dorothy Parker
Tonight, I am wondering what these women have seen each other through. Probably divorces, deaths, loves, happy occasions and tears.
"Women wear their tears like jewelry."~ Author Unknown.
One thing I do know: Women are stronger because we have each other. We are braver than we think. We are fiercely protective of those we love. We stay sane because we cook. One of the women needed to get going because it was her turn to host her dinner group.
"When men reach their sixties and retire, some go to pieces. Women go right on cooking." ~Gale Sheehy
It's good to be a woman.
Love this!
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