Pei Wei Restaurant

That's where I was at noon-time today, having lunch with a friend who used to live on our street. I hadn't been to that restaurant, which is a fairly new Asian restaurant in the area, but she had been there before and said the food was delicious, which it was. Very busy restaurant at lunch-time, being that it's right near the Gulf Freeway and there are lots of businesses and stores around that area.

We were there for over two hours, chatting and catching up with everything that's been happening over the last few years. When A lived on our street, we were in and out of each other's houses every day. She and her husband were the original owners of their home here, and they moved because they wanted to downsize to a smaller house. They moved to Pearland, which isn't that far from here, but far enough to eliminate the day-to-day contact. She got busy in Pearland with her new home and new friends, I got busy here with our "old" home and old friends.

We kept in touch at times since she moved (via eMails) but hadn't really talked at length till today. It amazed me how we just picked up right where we left off, as if no time at all had passed us by. Her sense of humor is still the same, as is her directness, which I had always been very comfortable with. As with my friend F up in NY, my friend V around the corner, and my friend A in North Carolina, being direct and up-front is a breath of fresh air, as opposed to the game-playing and tit-for-tat stuff that can go on with other relationships. All of that just wears you out, and wears down the friendship, till one day there's just nothing left to hold onto and you find yourself looking into the eyes of a stranger and wondering what you had in common in the first place. I tend to be Pollyanna-ish with people... I believe what people tell me, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Then a few weeks (or months) later, a little light-bulb goes off in my head and I sit there thinking Is that what they meant? Did they mean to be that disrespectful? Then, of course, it's easy to not only turn the other cheek, but to turn away altogether and go along my merry way.

I have to give A credit for her tenacity... she kept eMailing me "to say hello," she kept the eMails interesting and funny and before we knew it, we were into conversations just like we always had been. It was her idea to meet for lunch, and I'm glad we did. Of course, we both said we needed to keep this up, now that we've started again, which I'm sure we will.

I've learned not to look back, so what's past is past and it's history. What's important is what's happening now, and now is all that counts. Today was a very nice day. The weather was beautiful... sunny and warm this afternoon, just a glorious day. Lunch was indeed delicious, but the company was better.