Good Friends

   Through the wonders of technology (Facebook) I was able to have lunch with a friend today. Why would I need technology to have a lunch date? (It has nothing to do with the food...) My friend was at work in Washburn Wisconsin. I am in St. Paul. Washburn is a bit of a hike from here about 200 some odd miles. Definitely too far to drive for a lunch date.
  The lunch date wasn't planned actually. I hopped on Facebook to see what was going on and noticed that Cori was logged on. I hailed her with a friendly "howdy". She was taking a lunch break. I decided it was a good time for me to have lunch too.
   We sat at our respective computers and typed back and forth to each other. We talked about dating and how younger women just aren't as smart about it as we used to be. We talked about people we used to know down in southern Minnesota. We talked about how my mom wanted me to be more like her and her mom wanted her to be more like me. We talked about hobbies. I want to make some baby hats for a couple of women from church who are due this winter. Cori said that she made jewelry, but hadn't done it for some time. She mused on how she missed doing it as it was relaxing. I told her that she should pull out her stuff and make me something.
  It was such a good talk. I asked her about some cleaning items that I'd seen. I wanted to know if they really worked. We talked about her kids. She has a son who is seriously into football and wants to play for the NFL. I asked her what position he plays. She didn't know and said that she needed a reference book. I recommended one to her.
  Eventually it had to come to an end. She had to go back to work and I needed to take care of some laundry. It felt good to have a little chat.
  I finished my lunch and dealt with my laundry. C called to let me know how things were going at work. After I was done talking to C, I decided I needed to call Eva. Eva is an elderly woman who I have "adopted" as my grandmother. She's in her middle 80s. She called last week to see what was up and I hadn't had a chance to call her back.
   I called her up and she answered the phone. She was happy to hear from me. I love talking to Eva because she's lived in St. Paul all her life. She tells me what the city was like when she was growing up and when she was a young woman. I could listen to that for hours. Sometimes I wish I could tape record her when she talks about old St. Paul so I could listen to it over and over again.
  We chatted about men and how stubborn they can be. She told me about her father and that he had married twice after her mother had died. She told me about her grandson and going to visit him at college. She had made all the food that he likes. She had just got home from the visit when he called to thank her. She had helped to raise him and they are very close.
   Towards the end of our chat I talked about a family matter that was bothering me. I knew I had taken the right course of action, but wanted to talk to someone outside of the family. She listened carefully to me. Then she told me what she thought. I was doing the right thing. I felt better. Most people would assume that someone her age would not be able to relate to modern problems. I don't think that's true. Sometimes the best person to talk to is an older one. Eva has seen a lot. There isn't much that could happen that would seriously shock her.
  I hung up feeling much better. I feel so lucky and blessed to have such good friends.