Time to Be Social

Today was the first day since the pandemic where I had two social engagements in one day. I am marking this day on the calendar as the day things really go back to normal. I first had lunch with my friend Jeanne. We became friends 12 or thirteen years ago. Then she and her husband moved to Alexandria about six years ago. I would see her a couple times a year while she was gone, but never enough. Then they moved back, March 2020. They might as well have lived in Alexandria since we never saw each other during lockdown.

Now we are trying to get back in the swing of things and had lunch out today. It felt like old times. We didn’t do anything serious, just lunch and gab. The way it used to be.

Then tonight we went for cocktails at our friends the Howell’s. The Howell parents, who were some of our best old Durham friends, who moved to Atlanta years ago, were in town visiting their son Elliott and his family. It was like a real old fashioned Friday night cocktails with other old friends from the neighborhood. There is never enough time with Roz and Earl so thank goodness we are all vaccinated and could be together.

Two social events events in one day and we have another tomorrow and it is still not yet the holiday. It’s like that Prince song, “I’m gonna party like it’s 1999.”

I have no guilt about having so much fun because I have been nothing but productive for 16 months and now I am perfectly fine just letting go. I’m not sure how many parties Russ can take before he says it’s time to stop, but so far he is all in. Now that’s something.