A Night out with friends and no yoga pants
I wore a beautiful dress, heels, and a push-up wired bra. I did my hair, wore some makeup, and walked to the car at the end of the evening in my bare feet. It felt good. Real good.
My first large event since the covid 19 pandemic hit in March 2020. It was filled with people who were catching up, laughing, and meeting new people. The last is what felt so great inside me. The plated dinner that I didn’t have to make any choices about and the cash bar in the corner of the room gave me comfort that we are slowly getting there, to that social spot that we all missed.
The small talk of meeting someone new. We chatted about where we were from, and what we do for work and then very naturally we slide into a conversation about how we felt a shift inside us when we entered our forties. How we looked at the world differently. How we felt that this period of our lives was just the beginning of something greater. We both spoke about the different relationships we held with our kids, with our parents, and with ourselves. I left spending 2 hours at a table with this woman with no selfies, no swapping of social media platforms, just with that content feeling of ‘she is a nice person’. I have missed that. The meeting of a nice person who we share some time with and that is all, no follow-up, no lie about becoming insta besties. Just a mature conversation that came to a natural end.
The evening also connected me with a few friends that I have not seen for way longer than the pandemic can be blamed. We shared the usual catch-up and vowed to see each other soon. I ensured to go to their social feeds the next day to remind the algorithms that I do want to see these people in my feeds. I was able to hug them and tell their beautiful faces that I missed them. Seeing their smiles made my heart sore.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel! There is going to be a time when more and more of us are comfortable and ready to attend the large events again. There are going to be great nights that include dressing up, small talk, and handshakes. I can’t wait for the next one.
