This evening was a great one. Old friends from my past (and also, my present and my future) --- Albert and Belinda, Benjamin and Wendy, Hillarie --- came over to my place for a potluck dinner. So, as we ate pizza, garlic bread, meatloaf, ratatouille, vanilla ice cream and homemade jam, we talked about our lives, people we know who were making decisions that would affect their own lives, the world economy, Tokyo, 'interesting' Japanese words, travel experiences, school and students, discipline, and moving house.

Daughters No. 1 and 2 sat and listened and talked and made funny faces. The hamsters dozed. The chandelier in the hall swung round and round in the strong wind pulling in from the reservoirs. And we old friends just chatted, laughed, joked and made contact again, coming in together for a short time from all our disparate paths and journeys to connect and strengthen the existing bonds.

The last few times I met up with them, CNY or otherwise, we fake-ate plastic geckos, celebrated Francis' 40th birthday, admired Bel's lovingly tended garden, praised Albert's fishing paraphernalia, played with huge Ragdoll cats, and talked about our collections of fabric. I'm sure there'll be other good conversations in the future.

Here's to old friendships and the building of a shared history.

Labels: Albert, Belinda, Benjamin, Hillarie, old friends, Wendy