I stepped outside of my comfort zone today -- I returned my friend M's phone message, agreeing to meet her at the Panera near my home. Little did I know that her dad and younger brother would be with her also. But that was okay.
In fact it was better than okay. Our visit was comfortable and we pretty much did pick up where we left off nine years ago.
M looks much the same as I remembered her looking the last time I saw her. Perhaps she is thinner. I felt she looked almost aggressively thin. She didn't look bad, but she looked more wrinkled than I would have expected given our age. However, M is a physical education teacher in the southwestern United States, so even with sunscreen use, she has had way more sun exposure than I have. She mentioned her wrinkles and I assured her that the reason I didn't have too many was because fat helps to plump up your skin and discourages wrinkles. I told M that if I had my choice, I would choose to have some wrinkles instead of a fat face (and ankles and thighs and upper arms and you get the idea).
I'm glad that I set my pride aside and got together with M. Who knows when she might be back in Illinois and there is almost no chance that I will be traveling to Arizona anytime soon. I'd like to think that maybe I will be thinner the next time I see her, but that is an unlikely possibility. I know I made the right decision to see M now instead putting off meeting in hopes that I might look better at a future date.
In a belated Thankful Thursday expression: I'm thankful that M is the same easy-going, accepting friend that she has always been and I'm thankful that I trusted my instinct that meeting her would be a positive, and even fun, experience. My fears of being judged for my lack of self-control were unfounded. M knows me -- the me I was when we were first friends in grade school, and the me that I've continued to be through high school, college, marriage, and motherhood. I'm thankful that we can still call each other friend.
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