A Gathering Of Women

It's been windy all day up in the eagle's nest. The babies have not hatched yet. The latest from CBC is that one of the eggs is missing, though I clearly saw two yesterday. They are also saying there is only a slender chance that the baby will survive. How cruel.

I had lunch at our local Thai restaurant today. To the restaurant's credit, the place is clean and light, the service friendly and efficient, offering good food at reasonable prices. No instant food keeping warm in the kitchen waiting to be put on plates here. You know your food is freshly prepared because sitting at the table, you can hear the chef in the kitchen chopping on a wood block and clanging his woks and dishes. Exactly the kind of place a lone woman would go in the middle of the day in search of food and rest.

So into this restaurant I walked at lunch time. There was a lively chatter between three lone women sitting at different tables in the small restaurant. One woman was about 60, the other two in their 40's. Two other couples at their tables politely kept to themselves.

No doubt these women started a conversation because they were enjoying their food so much, they had to exchange comments of appreciation. They may even have consulted each other on what to order. The clean and safe environment of the restaurant promoted socializing.

When I ordered Basil rice with chicken, the woman who sat closest to me said, "Oh that's good. I had that too." So I kind of joined their conversation too.

When one of the women got up to leave, everyone exchanged names, expressed their appreciation for the good food once more, promising to see each other again next time they're in. My food arrived. The two remaining women sat together to continue their converation so they wouldn't be shouting across me to talk to each other. The older woman was telling the younger about her travels with her husband.

It was pretty neat, this little restaurant being a gathering place where lone women find company over lunch.