Dinner with Sister(s)

For the most part, I'm perfectly content living alone. I don't have to mark whose milk is whose, whose leftovers are whose, or whose bananas are whose (my undergrad roommates and I used to actually mark our initials on the banana peels). I don't have to ask permission before Ian visits, or inform anyone that I need a little peace and quiet for a nap or some "me time." I can watch Breaking Amish or Jersey Shore: Season 6 (guilty pleasure) without worrying that someone somewhere is huffing about not getting to watch her show that's on at the same time. I have all the personal space and the freedom in the world! But, I digress.

 

I have several very close friends in my graduate program, but it's not the same as having the constant companionship or physical closeness as a roommate. One of my closest friends, Kristin, lives with her boyfriend, Travis, just a mile or so down the road. Another close friend, Jennifer, has a roommate of her own. It's super convenient being able to visit with my girls who live so close.

Now, I have even more exciting visits to plan. One of my sorority sisters, Rachel, is now in the same program as I at the same college!

We set up a date earlier in the week to go out to dinner Friday night or to have a few beers on someone's porch to soak up this gorgeous weather. We left things pretty loose, so I was thrilled when she texted Friday morning, asking whether I'd be interested in having dinner in at her place with another of our ADPi sisters, Ashley. I was like, duhh! Mini ADPi reunion! As it turned out, Ashley got off work later than she planned and wasn't able to make it, but I rejoiced that she'll be living with Rachel come February.

 

I was also overly excited because I volunteered to bring the salad, which gave me an opportunity to use the wooden salad bowl set my mom got me last Christmas!

Home decor and kitchenware really shouldn't be as thrilling as they are to me, but hey, I own it. [Secretly, I think Ian also owns my love for "cute" kitchen and home furnishing items because it's less he'll need to worry about when we someday share a home.]

Being the scatterbrain that I am, I forgot the salad dressings I had promised to bring, and Rachel didn't have any. Sooo, we were saladless. No matter; she prepared a delicious on-the-spot sauteed garlic chicken dish and stir-fried garden veggies for us! I even told her how pleasantly surprised I was that we had agreed on a health-conscious dinner choice.

One of my favorite things about the seasons changing is the extended time I can spend on the porch or meandering outside, admiring the leaves changing and absorbing the cooler temps. So that's exactly what we did... for five hours. It's so funny to me how no matter where the conversation takes us, we always end up back at sorority stuff or Longwood. Hey, home is home.

P.S. What were you up to this weekend? I spent Saturday cheering on the Hampden-Sydney Tigers, who unfortunately lost in the last 4 minutes, 21-24, to the Huntingdon Hawks of Alabama. We'll get 'em next time!