Maria and Les invited me to their new house for dinner last night. I had walked through it once with Maria before they moved in, when it was still a big empty cavernous shell! But now they have their own furnishings and it's cozy and comfy and looks like home! Well...a very, VERY BIG home. What a place! I could fit four of my humble little houses into theirs. In fact, I could probably live in their basement and they would never know I was there! Hey now...that's an idea!
At any rate, before dinner, we sat out on their patio with a bottle of wine. Their yard is beautiful; it came landscaped with a pretty pond and waterfall. And, it backs on a wood and there is a lake just beyond the trees. In some ways, it reminds me a lot of our property back in Maryland. Kenny and I used to sit out there all the time and watch the blue herons, the osprey and bald eagles fly over our lake. Wow...don't want to dwell on that too much...sure miss those moments!!
After a while, we went inside and Maria whipped up this fabulous dinner...lobster bisque, stuffed flounder, etc. It was nice to have a home-cooked meal, at a real kitchen table, with nice friends to share the conversation with.
Les and I have known each other for years. We met at work in Washington, DC. about 1991. I got to know Maria a few years later around '98 and it took me a while to realize they were connected, a married couple. In so many ways, they remind me a lot of me and Kenny. They seem to be good, good friends. Forgive me Maria for saying it but, she is a "Type A" kind of gal, just like me! Les simply laughs off her moments of "exhuberance!" Yes, the two are a perfect fit for each other.
Maria is one of those people I reach out to for advice on this unique world of widowhood. She is a widow too. She lost her first husband when she was just in her twenties, so she knows a lot about what I'm experiencing. It's nice to see too, that Les is so understanding of her past. It takes a very strong man with a compassionate heart to accept the lingering of those memories from long ago.
I really enjoyed that nice family kind of evening. How fortunate I am to know people from work who care enough to invite me into their personal worlds. I hugged them both good-bye and we laughed about them getting me my own key to the "Palace!" HA! Thank goodness for friends with a good sense of humor!
No comments:
Post a Comment