On a more serious note

I am never one to really brag or boast about things I’ve done, participated in, felt and experienced…well unless it is a MEME and then we all know that I don’t hesitate to share because for some reason I have it stuck in my head that you guys want to hear all about ME and nothing more. But sometimes we have experiences in our lives that are just worth sharing because, well…they touched us so much. Last night I had one of those experiences that I wanted to share with you. It’s not as a means to brag or boast, but to share with all of you in hopes that maybe one day you will be touched enough to do the same thing.

I had the opportunity to go out to dinner with a friend of mine we will call “my non-boyfriend, boyfriend.” My non-boyfriend, boyfriend and I have been friends for only a short time but spend many of our non-working, free hours together, sharing, communicating, working out, drinking wine and eating. He is a kind man with a gentle soul and a huge, and I mean HUGE…heart people…heart! Get your minds out of the gutter! Anyway, he is unlike anyone of the opposite sex that I have ever spent time with. He is sensitive, caring and a great communicator. I enjoy his company tremendously.

Last night my non-boyfriend, boyfriend and I ate dinner outside on the sidewalk of a great Greek restaurant in a part of town that I had never been to. You would think that living in the same city for 36 years of my life would have allowed me the opportunity to visit this particular part of town, but for some reason I didn’t even know it existed. It is in kind of a rough area of town, but it is such a cute and quaint place to be. We ended up sitting outside having a couple of cocktails and a FANTASTIC meal. The food and conversation were fantastic, as always. The servings were huge and by the time we had finished our dinner, it hardly looked like either of us had touched the food on our plates. The excess of the leftover food was almost at a level of embarrassment.

As we were sitting and talking I noticed out of the corner of my eye a gentleman carrying an American flag. He was kind of rough, scruffy and dirty and I am embarrassed to say that I immediately focused my eyes on my non-boyfriend, boyfriend so that I would not have to make eye contact with someone that didn’t “look” like me. This gentleman walked through the gate of the outdoor eating area and came over to our table and just eyed the great looking food that was on our plates. You could almost see a sparkle in his eye as he looked at it. Had I been at that restaurant on my own or with my girlfriends I would have probably completely ignored the obviously hungry man. I’m not proud to admit that, but it is what it is and I can only learn from my experiences.

But there was something bigger happening last night that I wasn’t at all aware of at the time. I was completely shocked and taken aback when my non-boyfriend, boyfriend asked this hungry man to sit and join us for dinner. He offered up his plate of leftover food and even ordered him a glass of water. Let me clarify, I wasn’t really shocked that my non-boyfriend, boyfriend asked this gentleman to join us, because that would absolutely be something that he would do, I was shocked that I was actually able to be a part of something so awesome. My non-boyfriend, boyfriend and I were carrying on a conversation that this gentleman knew something about, so the fact that he could join in with us in his own little way was awesome. I could really feel something bigger than me working in my life…

As I laid in bed trying to process the events of the evening, I got a little teary eyed, sad and even a little mad at myself. I started to wonder how many times I had passed up an opportunity such as this because I could come up with a hundred reasons why it wouldn’t be good to invite a stranger over. You know, fleshly reasons, like how others would perceive me if I invited him to join me, or thoughts like, “what could I possibly have in common with this type of guy”. It made me sad.

I was thankful when my non-boyfriend, boyfriend called me this morning to help me process my feelings and help me understand that every single moment of my life as I know it, led up to that particular moment last night. Every piece of the puzzle came together and allowed me to partake in an awesome learning experience. It is a moment that I will truly never forget. And one that I hope I have the opportunity of participating in again.