#150: Hey, By The Way…

Today was one of those rare sunny days without a plan of how to spend it. When you allow it, such day can take an unexpected turn involving storytelling, laughing and a few glasses of white wine.

I had it all set up. The coffee machine was heated up and a few bags of freshly roasted coffee beans waited to be opened. I was very much looking forward to an exciting sensory experience.

There was just this one pending item that kept buzzing around in my head. So I said to my wife that I would take the bicycle and quickly get that missing input from an old friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in ages. Not to worry. I would be back in just a few minutes.

About three hours and a few glasses of white wine later I made it back home. What had happened?

I rang the door bell. Nobody there. I then left a short message on a post-it, stuck it on the door and left again. It was only when I cycled around the house that I noticed the kids playing in the backyard. My friend and his wife sat on the terrace and enjoyed a glass of white wine. They didn’t accept my excuse that I only had a quick question to ask before rushing back home to «take care of other business».

Since we hadn’t seen each other in a long time, one story followed the next. We couldn’t stop laughing and really enjoyed each other’s company. The wine kept flowing while there was no shortage of topics to talk about. At some point, I just had to call it a day.

A few hours of pure joy. No agenda. No time schedule. Just free flow of laughter, wonder and appreciation.

The fact that we had all been starving of human interaction most definitely played into how this afternoon evolved. That wasn’t all of it, though. It was equally important that we allowed it to happen.

We were all in. Letting go of anything we thought we could and possibly should do in favour of enjoying each other’s company.

Just before leaving I also asked the question, which was the reason why I came to see them in the first place.

«Hey, by the way…»