one is silver and the other gold (m)

I was gunning for the 50-pound mark this week....as in 50 pounds lost.

Friday Night

I get a call from Susan, one of my dearest friends.  "Michele and I want to celebrate your birthday with a mani/pedi party at Michele's new store in Lexington."  The store is a high-end nail salon that is very hip, modern and clean.  They sterilize all their equipment.  It really beats those other places with the fake flowers, people who squat in front of you, ask to shave your callouses even though it's against the law and then talk about how fat you are in their native language (or at least that's what I imagine they are doing).

While my birthday is coming up (Sunday, the 14th), the bigger reason is that I'm going to Florida and my nails do need to be done.  I agree to go.

Get there and Susan is in the chair, all dressed up, make-up  on and sporting her new Prada purse.  She looks uber-groomed, reading Harper's Bazaar.  Michele, who is tall, thin and looks a little like Jackie Kennedy comes over to greet me.  I belabor the step where we have to choose nail polish for the toes and, separately, the hands.  I'm already driving people crazy and I don't even have my coat off yet.

Susan convinces me to try a bright red on my toes...Michele likes quiet colors for the feet.  The manicurist is a nice kid who is exceptionally patient. She just wants me to pick something.  After too much time and too many samples, I settle on a deep pink.  I regret it as soon as it goes on but it is pretty.  Why the remorse?  Because my mother hates loud colors on toe nails.  She'll accuse me of looking like the "painted whore of Babylon" and I can't get that voice out of my head.

We drink some wine.  The more I drink, the more I get used to the color on my feet.  Then, we head to dinner at a nice restaurant.  There, I take Michele's suggestion and order the Mongolian vegetable stew.  It doesn't taste fattening. The waitress says it is in a light broth and is a million vegetables all chopped up and cooked to perfection, served with rice and yogurt.  Outstanding.  I eat a little more than half and also have some bread, hummus and tuna sashimi.  I only had one 50-calorie rice cake all day.  Even though I saved all my points for tonight, I probably went over by about 5 points.

Have a wonderful time connecting with my oldest friends.  We have been together since Michele came to our school in third grade.  Susan and I go back further than that.  Every time we meet, we learn more about each other's lives and families.  I feel like we are making a tapestry that will never be finished.  We laugh and we cry.

I realize as we hug each other good bye that we are time travelers...traveling through this earthly journey together.  Tonight has nothing to do with my birthday or with getting my feet done for Florida.  It has everything to do with maintaining the relationships that matter in one's life.

Saturday Morning

Get on the scale at Weight Watchers.  To date, I've lost over 49 pounds, but am just shy of 50 pounds.  If I hadn't gone to dinner with my friends, I probably would have cracked the 50-pound mark today.

I don't care.  It was worth it.