Late Night Conversations

It started with a spiral ham in the fridge, progressed to wanting to cook, moved into inviting good friends over and rolled into great late night conversations.

I don't cook much anymore. I don't know how to cook in small portions very well, having cooked for a herd when the kids were at home. I got the spiral ham when the Gypsy Kids were here but there was never time for them to come over to sit down for a meal......so there it languished in the fridge. What to do? Of course, invite good friends over. You know the ones who kick their shoes off, curl up after dinner and talk. The meal is something to do. But, it's after the meal when the real great conversation happens..........I cooked the ham, a new potato salad recipe without mayonnaise (which was interesting), a corn souffle, big mixed salad and lemon bars. The first and last items, oh and the corn souffle requested by some in the party.

After dinner, with shoes off, we all plopped on the big sectional sofa. Coffee and lemon bars were passed around. What ensued was 3 1/2 hours of conversation that covered topics from religion to Speedos, to travel. Not necessarily in that order. Lots of laughter too. Don't you just love the kind of friends where you can just talk about anything and no one gets their back up or their feelings hurt? The best.

After everyone left and as I was cleaning up, the evening's conversations replayed in my mind. Interestingly, the topics used to include who was building a house and how big it was going to be. It also used to be about who was moving here and all the new things that were happening.

This conversation, in some instances, was a bit more serious. It was about the three bodies found out by the railroad tracks, cartel killings. It was about who was leaving and who was thinking of leaving Mexico. And, the budget crisis of the administration of San Miguel. Also about the new female mayor of San Miguel who has never been in politics and how she would do in this new career. A few sobering topics. Somehow though, we always got back to light topics like Santorini, Mediterranean cruises, Alaskan cruises, etc.etc.etc.

Just love nights like that with those kind of friends. And realizing that those are the good times in life.

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." Written Anonymously.