My friend Sandra, her husband Harris, their daughter Greta, their grandson Little Joe and I all went to dinner last night to celebrate Sandra’s birthday. As we sat there admiring the perfection of their new grandson, Harris commented on who would have thought back in 1985 when Greta came into their lives that would we ever have a dinner like this so many years later. And I thought about how, when I met her, Sandra was only 14. And when I first met Greta she was one day old. And when I first met Little Joe… well, let’s just say I was one of the first to see the top of his head when he was crowning… unless you count the sonogram of him 3 months into gestation. And I thought how lucky we all were, how blessed really, to still be together, still be close friends, still be able to celebrate special times together and, most of all, welcome this new member to our little group.
Growing old doesn’t have a lot of benefits, but this is certainly one of them.