A Truly Wonderful Lunch

[Sally]

I had one of those wonderful occasions today, the very special sort that do not come along everyday but seem to go by so quickly and yet the effects remain.

OK, so what am I rambling about?

Today, I had lunch with a wonderful lady from the forums - she was down here in my neck of the woods on business and visiting her in laws so she could not dress for lunch, I did not either so we wouldn't feel odd.

We meet at a Red Lobster, I had suggested it for it's proximity and ease of locating it and when we met I found out that she loved seafood - what a great choice!

This wonderful lady is Becky, our resident cheerleader.

She is every bit as up and excited about life in person as she is here - everything she says is genuine and said with conviction.

We have talked on the phone before and had several discussions about how I might start pulling my life back together.

She had challenged me to tell here where I intended to be in 5 years so I had been giving it a lot of thought and that is why I posted that topic about going back to school and becoming a therapist.

She asked me why and I told her that I feel the most alive when I am here helping someone or in PMs, Instant messaging - on the phone or skype - I love to help people even if all I am doing to help is listening.

She thought for a moment and said that she thought that I had made a good choice and that everyone needs to find that one thing that they really want to do and love to do and make that their life's work.

I am pretty sure that the people at the restaurant were not really ready for us, a 5'6" gentleman in a Hawaiian style shirt (complete with palm trees - I should have worn one of mine) and wearing a baseball cap hugging a 6'4" overweight man with a long ponytail - but you know - we didn't care.

I am also sure that the people near us must have been unsure about their hearing as we did not whisper and neither of us knows (or wants to) the other's male name so it was Becky and Sally and a lot of talk about relationships and changes and just life in general - oh and a discussion of favorite foods!

I have to say that with the appetizer sampler that we split (Stuffed Mushrooms - fried clam strips - grilled, bacon wrapped scallops) and the Shrimp cocktail which we also split - the salads and en trays were almost unnecessary - unnecessary but delicious - she was ordering grilled fish and asked the waiter which was the best - he narrowed it sown to tillapia and mahi-mahi - I suggest the Mahi- Mahi and that is what she had - she liked it very much so I was glad I had mentioned it being my favorite.

So was I good and ordered the grilled Mahi-Mahi - not a chance, this was my day out too - I was celebrating meeting a wonderful sister who was down here from Nebraska - time to splurge - I ordered the Admiral's Feast - if it swims and can be breaded and fried it was on there - Shrimp, Scallops, clam strips and flounder - Yummy with a baked potato and those fabulous cheddar bay biscuits.

The time was too short but we had a great time, I hope to get the chance to visit with her face to face again soon and maybe when we can both dress more appropriately.

Compared to Becky, Tony Roberts seems a little depressed - maybe she should give him a motivational talk.

I had a great time Becky - hope to see you again really soon, I love you but you know that.

Sally

[MaryEllen]

Glad you had a good day, hon.

MaryEllen

[Guest Donna Jean]

Sally.....

See?...SEE?

Didn't I tell you that she was a great hugger?

But, she could get more of me in a hug than you...sorry 'bout that!

Honey, That sounded like a wonderful time....

I wish that I could of been there with you too...Then Becky could click her tongue and tell me...

"We come to a seafood place and you get a salad?"

So, I wish I could of heard the two of you calling each other "Becky" and "Sally" sitting there in male mode...(Fly on the wall!)

OMG...there are some people sitting at home tonight rubbing their heads...LOL

AHhhh...that was so great to hear...

It makes me happy that you two got to finally meet....

I love you both!

HUGGGGGGS!

Dee Jay

[Guest Elizabeth K]

YEAAAAAAAA

Lizzy

[Guest Jean Davis]

That's great Sally.

I'm so happy to hear you two had a good time.

LUV

Jean

[Carolyn Marie]

Sally and Becky, it sounds like you two had a wonderful time, and I am SO very envious. I'm sure it was a blast and a half.

It is a wonderful thing to meet face to face those you only know from a computer screen. Nothing like it in the world.

I hope both of you have many more such opportunities.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

[Guest]

I'm so happy for you both! It's wonderful affirmation to meet, chat, touch hearts with hugs!

Becky, I think it's wonderful that you're able to meet so many here in your travels - what a blessing wherever you go!

I'm sure you'll enjoy many more of these meetings.

Love, Kat

[Guest viv]

Is this what makes life worthwhile ???? What a wonderful post .

A couple of friends having a meal and sharing stories old and

new . You are right Sally , Becky is a wonderful woman , I have

so much respect and admiration for her , as I do you . You two

will meet again -I just know that. I dont know if I"m oversensitive

or just plain silly but again I find myself so priviliged to know you

folk here . This forum is slowly but surely teaching me something ,

all you need is love ,,,,viv

[Guest BeckyTG]

Dear Sweet Sally,

I'm finally back home and out of all the rush-rush-rush of my trip. Our meeting was one of the highlights of my trip. Thank you for putting aside the time for me.

I've always found it fascinating to meet people in person, especially when you've come to know them another way, whether it's the Internet or telephone. In-person meetings give you a chance to better know someone and meeting personally with you was truly wonderful.

I'm so happy that you've decided to pursue a direction in your life. Finding something (anything) that you can be passionate about is not easy and pursuing that can bring warmth and gratification to your life like nothing else. There are far too many people who are just drifting through life and have become overly caught up with minute things that ultimately don't matter. Pretty soon, a decade has passed and their life has accomplished nothing.

Making that conscious decision to change your life can be very fulfilling. I'm so glad that you turned around and challenged me, as well. I'm right in the middle of re-making what I do, also. This has to happen occasionally, as everything in the world changes and we must evolve and change with it, or become bitter and irrelevant.

The time we spent together was priceless and shall live for a long time with me. We spoke openly and the words certainly came freely to both of us. There was no trouble at all getting the conversation started or keeping it moving. I believe we could still be sitting together right now with our mouths and minds moving...

Thank you so much for saving your time to spend with me. It was very enjoyable and I hope we can do it again. I'm glad we didn't run the kitchen out of food, we certainly gave it our best effort.

It was wonderful to meet you in person, Sweet Sally. You are truly a warm and caring person in real life.

Love and Hugs,

Becky