Let's Go Out for Drinks

You guys, I SO do not want to do my work today. Good thing it's "fake Friday." Two days off for Easter, hooray! So instead of work let me tell you what I did FUN last night: I went OUT. After choir practice ended at 9:00pm. To a Taphouse.

!!

So rare are the occasions of me going out for beer after an event, that I can't even think of the last time it happened. College, probably. I'm not much of a beer-drinker. In my 20s I drank beer, because pitchers were the easiest and cost-effective option at Manuel's Tavern and at Melton's App & Tap, two places my friends and I frequented in those days.

But then I guess I grew up and started drinking wine instead. Beer had too many calories, back when we counted calories. Lately we barely even drink wine. If I open a bottle for one glass on a Friday night, the bottle sits, corked, for at least a week on my counter, sadly not being drunk (drinken, as Kate still says). Not for lack of wanting to, just lack of time, really. During dinner at home, there's no guarantee that I don't have to go out in the car again for some activity. And when I get home from said activity, when it would be nice to sit down in front of TV with a glass, it's already bedtime (9:00 pm! We are so old). Bah. I know I'm not really missing anything.

ANYWAY. Last night was the 60th birthday of my friend who does not look 60, so her husband texted me early in the week with this: "Drinks after choir for bday." I didn't know he had my number, and wasn't certain whose bday, but figured it out fairly quickly and decided I would join them. Turned out to be a great (small, thankfully) group of people I genuinely like and yet rarely spend time with, outside of choir. I would love for Shawn and me to go out drinking with them again. (We have been, one other time, when we were all invited to a wedding and pre-partied.) Also, I need to have Chris and Lisa over to dinner sometime, because apparently that is a thing I think I need to do to express "I like you." They're great.

It gave me one little glimpse into the future, and I said, "Sometimes I can't wait for the kids to be all grown up so we can do what we WANT again." Immediately I wished I could take it back, nearly slapped my hand over my mouth, because I know, I KNOW that we will be so sad the day they're all grown up and gone. (Unless they come out drinking with us!) Chris said it takes about 6 minutes to get over it. HA! But I know that statement is also false. Life is funny, isn't it? And Time Marches On: This week, we went to our first end-of-year Band Banquet for the high school. END OF year. Alex's first year of high school just began, and is nearly over. He walked away from the 3 of us quickly after we walked into the banquet, off to sit with his lunch-table friends. Praise Jesus.

Sooner than I think, he'll be the one going out for beers with his friends, heaven help me.


P.S. I had one glass of Atlanta Hard Cider and a taste of a friend's Lord Grey Sour Ale, and they were both delicious. So head's up, DH: We will be visiting this Taphouse again, probably while the kids are at camp in 7 short weeks.