Dinner with friends

On Wednesday, some friends and I enjoyed a yummy Italian dinner together. We meet once a month to laugh, eat and drink. (Actually, when we first started meeting, we were a Bunco group. The only problem was, there were many nights when we didn't have enough players for Bunco. Then, you'd rustled up all those annoying card tables and folding chairs for nothing. Plus, I was never any good at playing Bunco. At best, I won the "lowest score" prize. Talk about a blow to the ego! So, we decided to switch from Bunco to just dinner, drinks, and socializing. Now, my husband calls these monthly meetings "Drunco." He thinks he's sooooo clever.) We feasted on seafood pasta, a really great salad, all kinds of wonderful munchies, and an amaretto almond cheesecake that has got to be at least a little illegal in some parts of the state.

Anyway, one of our little group recently had a baby, and she brought the precious bundle of pink and lace. Holding the wee one made me remember when Clay was that small, and it's only been a few months! But there is something indescribably sweet about very small babies. The hint of newness that is still about them. The odd little facial expressions. The wide-open eyes. The total unfamiliarity with the world.

It's funny - this group of women all originally got together because we worked in the same field. But it has really become more than that. We've learned a ton about one another. We've lunched, we've run together (albeit not in a while for me!). We've thrown showers for one another, swapped tips on everything from cooking to communications, and had a pretty damn good time doing it, too. When I initially joined the group, I never thought that I'd foster and maintain such wonderful relationships.

But I sure am glad that we don't play Bunco anymore. Man, I sucked at that.