Ladies Lunch Out

The phone rings, or you get a text or an email ~ "Let's do lunch."

The gents will never understand how important Ladies Lunch Out is to the women of the world.  I believe all the problems in the world can be solved with these special meals.  Whether comparing notes on parenting, supporting a friend going through a difficult time, or planning an event or vacation, these luncheons keep women functioning at their best.

Lunch sometimes is an escape for those of us who are raising teenage daughters.  We sympathize and mourn the loss of our little girls and try to figure out what to do with these emerging, opinionated young ladies over salads and sandwiches.  We all can relate when we wonder how such a lovely young lady can try on and discard eleven outfits before going out and just leave them where they fall.  We understand when one wants to throw out the computer and the cell phone for some one on one time with their daughter.  We encourage one another over desserts and decaf coffee before leaving and reminding each other that this too shall pass. 

As we journey through life, sometimes doctors throw us a curve we are not expecting.  How many meals have I prayed through as a young wife hopes to begin a family and meets challenges?  How many packets of Equal have I stirred into tea when a precious friend discovers she has cancer?  How many bites of lasagna have I struggled to swallow when a parent is diagnosed with a life threatening illness?  I am so fortunate to have friends that I can be there for and who I know will be there for me. Sometime there is such peace in the sound of ice clinking in glasses and knowing that someone else will be washing the dishes when we finish our meal. It is a blessing when what we long for most is the hug of a close friend.

Lunch is not always about overcoming life's hardships, though.  Sometimes Ladies Lunch Out is about celebrating. With a girlfriend, we can laugh about the antics of our husbands and children.  We can plan a baby shower for a friend.  We share photos of our daughters in their wedding dresses, our sons in their graduation caps and gowns, and someday, the photos of our grandchildren in Santa hats or with the Easter bunny.  We celebrate a common book we have read, a pound we have lost, or a movie we have seen.  We find joy in the simple things and the big things.  We find joy in the company of ladies at lunch!

Now ladies, pull out that directory and make that phone call.  Someone is yearning to to Ladies Lunch Out.